Movie Review: Glorious (2022)

Sometimes in horror, less is more when it comes to increasing the stakes. Having too many characters can add too much clutter to the story and reduce the depth of emotions and character you can explore with characters. While yes, this doesn’t fit every story, sometimes horror works when it focuses on just one character, with only one or two people to bounce ideas off. Because sometimes that person can have something important to say!

Glorious is a film that works with less to create a horror comedy, with cosmic horror elements that’s great to watch. The film follows Wes, a man struggling after a breakup with his ex-wife Brenda. So naturally he’s upset and pulls over to a rest stop. There he proceeds to destroys all his connections to her in a fire. And does it while blind drunk. It makes things interesting when he wakes up in the morning to find the possessions are all burnt and even… his pants? That’s when he enters the rest stop’s bathroom to vomit.

Things seem ok to start and he starts talking to a man who is sitting in another toilet stall. Things seem benign at first as they talk about life in general, and all nice stuff. That’s when the conversation takes a turn to the weird and bizzare. Because it turns out the man is actually a demi-god (or so it says). That introduces itself as Ghatanothoa – and then just casually wants Gus to call him Ghat. Weird right! And worse than that this being seems to want something from Gus – a “favour” that may cost him… his life or worse!

Naturally Wes resists, but I won’t spoil any more of the tale. One thing this tale also does is shine on an obscure cosmic entity in an intelligent and emphatic way. You also begin to learn about both Wes’s and Ghat’s past in a way that is memorable and adds to the horror. But either way, the tale is taught in a way that is both funny and with empathy for both characters, adding to the stakes.

Not only is Glorious and engaging tale, it makes you really think how sometimes less can be more. It’s also a good example of how you can subvert tropes to make unforgettable horror (and possibly some excellent dark comedy). And at the end of this film, you’ll never look at a public restroom the same way again… trust me!