"Surreal, disturbing, and emotionally evocative it may be, but enjoyable? Not at all…"

Canadian director Guy Maddin is certainly one of an acquired taste - presenting his films in a visually artistic, challenging way. His latest feature Keyhole is typical of the man's work, and surreal, disturbing, and emotionally evocative it may be, but enjoyable? Not at all.

Set in the 1930's Jason Patric plays Ulysses Pick, a gangster who finds himself on a mind-bending journey through his own home. Having committed a series of grievous crimes, Pick returns home for the first time in a long while, in an attempt to reconnect with his wife Hyacinth (Isabella Rossellini).

However he must embark on a surreal journey through his ever expanding home in order to get her - a house filled with the supernatural, as ghosts roam the corridors and time moves back and forth. Within this house we have a drowned girl Denny (Brooke Palsson), a young man in chains (David Wontner), oh and Hyacinth's tied up, naked father (Louis Negin).

The premise to Keyhole is intriguing, but unfortunately what actually transpires is somewhat too testing an experience for the viewer, as it takes a degree of hard work to figure this one out exactly. Maddin's unique, abstract style has given this innovative director a reputation in world cinema, but I can't help but get the sense he is implementing such a style for that sole reason, as rather than be genuinely progressive and contentious, it does come across as being somewhat contrived and unnatural.

From a stylistic perspective Keyhole is fascinating, as the use of black and white works well with the the 1930's setting and it certainly looks the part. In a sense, Keyhole is almost like Maddin's love letter to Hollywood, a homage to the film noir genre. Alternatively, it also comes across as a satirical, barbed take on mainstream cinema, with Hollywood at the core. As a result it's difficult to understand exactly what Maddin is attempting to achieve.

The images are continuously blending into one another throughout, as we aren't given the opportunity to examine a scene, as before we know it we cut straight into something else. Such a method is frustrating, as it's like looking out a moving trains window, trying to focus on a specific tree in a forest. The imagery is almost dreamlike, with so many short and sharp images, as Maddin blurs the line between realism and surrealism as though we are taking a trip into our own subconscious. It's just a shame the dream isn't a particularly pleasant one. I mean, does the old naked father have to be, you know, naked? The whole time?

Keyhole is certainly a provocative piece of cinema, and even if you don't enjoy or appreciate it in any way, you're certainly transfixed by it. However it stumbles at the overall story - I'm all for experimental cinema, but at the heart of any good film you need a strong narrative and story to depend on and this is lacking in such a respect. However, in a strange way I would quite like to see this again. Although I suppose that's just a vein attempt at simply trying to understand it, because I certainly didn't manage to do so first time around.