This one just hit me out of nowhere. I knew almost nothing about Horse Girl going into it, which I think is the best way to do it. My only real reason for watching it in the first place is that I was looking at what was new on Netflix and saw that Alison Brie was starring in a new movie that was coming out. Being a huge fan of Community, I absolutely love Alison Brie and will pretty much watch anything if I see she’s in it. So, without even looking at a trailer or reviews of the movie, I decided to just give it a shot, and was surprised to find a movie that will be a legitimate contender for my movie of the year.

Let’s dispel with the significance of the title first, since it’s likely going to be a point of confusion for most people. No, this isn’t about someone that’s half-girl/half-horse. No, this isn’t one of those “horse movies” where a girl grows up with her horse and follows her dreams. And no, this isn’t some weird beastiality movie about a girl that’s in love with a horse. Instead, Horse Girl is simply a title referring to the moniker of “horse girl” that’s given to those weird social outcast girls that own a horse and can’t stop talking about it.

Alison Brie plays the “horse girl” in this movie, Sarah, who is definitely an outcast. She tries to fit in and make friends, but she’s just kind of weird, and it winds up turning everyone off around her. So, she doesn’t really have any real friends and instead just keeps to herself and her childhood horse. In the beginning, the movie appears to just be this quirky ride about a girl trying to fit in, but about halfway through it really starts to devolve into something crazier. Sarah starts to experience really vivid lucid dreams of her being abducted by aliens, as well as some very strange time gaps in the time when she’s supposed to be asleep. She then begins to see people from her dreams in real life and begins to question if she’s not really dreaming. Sarah begins to become obsessed with the idea that she’s being abducted by aliens, and that she’s a clone of her grandmother that was made by the aliens. Questioning what’s real and what’s not, she starts to begin having a psychotic break, and this is where the movie really kicks into high gear.

Horse Girl does a great job of making the viewer question what’s really happening. Is Sarah just going crazy, or is this actually an alien abduction story? It’s a really interesting portrait of those people that swear up and down that they’ve been abducted by aliens. This is a movie that’s just a hell of a ride, and it only gets better and better as it goes along. As I was nearing the third act, I became completely engaged, and my mind was spinning on where the movie was heading. I started to feel really tense because of the mixture of Alison Brie’s performance, the engaging storyline, and some really fantastic music.

Upon seeing the movie, I’ve discovered that it’s actually pretty divisive, so it’s possible that I’m in the minority of loving this as much as I do. I can completely understand why it might not work for some people, because it has some really weird ideas in it that might not be for everyone. I think the reason that I liked it so much is because it reminded me of my favorite movie of all-time, Donnie Darko. I think that this is the closest movie I’ve seen since that has captured the same feeling that that movie did for me. It’s just a really peculiar sci-fi storyline that keeps you guessing and questioning things, and I just really like that. I’ve found a movie like Donnie Darko to be perfect for repeated viewings, since there’s always more to pick up on every time. I feel the same way about Horse Girl. I’m dying to watch it again now that I know what directions it heads in, and I feel like even on a first viewing I noticed a lot of interesting connections that I really want to dig into more. This just really captivated my interest in a way that few movies are ever able to, and I appreciate how rich the narrative is.

To compare it to Donnie Darko one last time, I will say that a movie like Donnie Darko does have a bit more universal appeal than Horse Girl, but it’s a good comparison if you’re into movies like that. Horse Girl definitely doesn’t feel like it’s for everyone, and I’m sure there’s going to be some people who think I’m crazy for loving this movie as much as I do. I just thought it was absolutely brilliant, and it sent me on an extremely captivating journey that I haven’t experienced in a while. This might be one of my new favorite movies ever. I can’t guarantee that you’ll feel the same, but I do think it at least deserves to be given a chance. This is a remarkable movie that I want to keep watching again and again.

5/5