BHFF Review: EVERY HEAVY THING (2025)

Image courtesy of IMDB

By Tom Milligan

EVERY HEAVY THING exists in its own state of augmented reality. The latest from Mickey Reece, a favorite of the indie genre circuit, is a techno-conspiracy thriller which the filmmaker himself describes as his attempt to make a De Palma film from memory.

Shot on location in Oklahoma City but set in the fictional “Hightown City,” a string of missing women are linked to a serial killer on the loose. In the midst of this spree, an ad salesman named Joe (Josh Fadem) lives a normal life with his girlfriend Lux (Tipper Newton). One evening, Joe witnesses a murder after a concert and is confronted by the killer (James Urbaniak). He threatens Joe into keeping his mouth shut, suggesting that he’s watching his every move and listening to him at all times. It’s unclear how this is possible, leaving Joe and the audience to question if this is some sort of vast social experiment revolving around one man’s descent into madness or if there’s some other explanation.

The irony of EVERY HEAVY THING is that it’s a conspiracy thriller in which our protagonist wants absolutely nothing to do with the conspiracy. This might not sound appealing at first, but it makes for a strangely compelling and frequently hilarious watch. For instance, one of Joe’s coworkers is provided with evidence regarding the identity of the killer by a local, which forces Joe to shut down her investigation out of fear for his life. To protect himself and his loved ones, he keeps his head down and stays quiet, though this comes at the cost of his sanity.

As he struggles to keep this knowledge a secret, Joe suffers from psychedelic dreams that warp and disintegrate like a VHS tape. It’s glitchy and synthetic, like the 1980s cinema that inspired it. The film’s cold open pays homage to slashers of the era before the aspect ratio widens and the image clarity is enhanced. This shifting of its visual style works in parallel with the narrative, as character dynamics evolve and new perspectives are introduced. With a dry sense of humor delivered by a supporting cast including the likes of Barbara Crampton, John Ennis, and Vera Drew, it’s unpredictable without feeling random for random’s sake. Amidst the comedy and genre thrills are some pretty topical themes, such as the intersection of capitalism and technology, particularly when it comes to today’s “billionaire douche-bro” culture and archetype.

One of the defining traits of a Mickey Reece picture is that you never know what you’re going to get, which can work to either its benefit or its detriment. They’re difficult to categorize, never settling on a single genre. The fellow moviegoer sitting next to me in the theater, who may or may not have been high as a kite, whispered “I have no fucking clue what I just watched” to his buddy at the end, so take that as you may. Still, I’d wager this is as good an entry point for his filmography as you’re going to find.

EVERY HEAVY THING had its New York premiere at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival on October 19th, 2025.