![]() ![]() ![]() Constantly open to prying stares and criticism, she loses her closest relationships while trying to maintain her existence. It tells of a woman who must be watched by at least one person no matter what she’s doing. “Watch Me”, directed by Briony Kidd and written by Claire d’ Este, is perhaps the most relevant tale to modern social culture. I’m a sucker for stop-motion animation, and everything about the design for this story was a perfect blend of heartfelt and unsettling. The only animated segment, it tells a poignant tale of love, loss, and what we risk losing when we begin to forget, all without a single line of dialogue. “Gloomy Valentine”, directed by Isabel Peppard and written by Peppard and Warwick Burton, is one of the most visually stunning. Featuring perhaps the most shocking twist in the anthology and some of the best creature design hearkening back to what mermaids are really like, this is a standout among heavy hitters. Less about loss and more about obsession, it tells the tale of a fisherman on a desperate search for a mermaid of his own. “The Man Who Caught a Mermaid”, directed by Kaitlin Tinker and written by Tinker and Jean-Phillipe Lopez, is one of the most shocking offerings. It’s a slick first step into a world of mystery where we can’t quite believe our first impressions. But her memory and her daughter’s memory seem to conflict in pointed ways. A bit of slow burn that seeps into your skin after it unfolds, it tells of a mother grieving for the loss of her child at a young age by way of a constant, solitary elevator journey and an insistence that she remember every year they had together, for better or worse. The first tale, “Birthday Girl”, directed by Angie Black and written by Michael Harden, feels like one of the shortest but also sharpest offerings. Even the frame story, about a young woman who discovers a book containing dark tales passed down to her after her mother’s death, reminds us that stories live in us and connect us even as they frighten us. Every segment carves a space for itself in your mind. Woven intricately together with the thematic thread of grief, love, and moving on, Dark Whispers asks us to peek behind the curtains of loss and face what we see there, even when it shocks us, and even when it pains us. Dark Whispers Volume 1, a film with stories from 11 women filmmakers across Australia and which recently played at the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival, is a shining example of horror anthology film done right. My favorite thing about anthology films, though, is when they’re diverse enough to have something in them, somewhere, for everyone. Anthology films especially seem a little more high-risk-high-reward scenario because, while it isn’t necessary for every story to be great for the anthology to be memorable (think Trilogy of Terror and how, collectively, we seem only to remember the last segment), truly lasting anthologies are built from pieces that manage both to shine on their own and amplify the stories around them. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |