Connect with us

Indie

[Fantasia ’15 Review] ‘Observance’: Pure Psychological Horror

Published

on

From his vantage point in a dilapidated apartment, private investigator Parker is watching the beautiful woman across the street. Every day he observes her, listens in on every phone call, and provides his employer with daily reports. It’s supposed to be a cushy gig that pays well, but soon Parker realizes the assignment isn’t what it seems. Shortly after, what’s happening across the street seems tame compared to the bizarre things going on inside the abandoned apartment where Parker spends his days and nights. It’s worse at night.

Writer-director Joseph Sims-Dennet’s new film Observance had its world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival. It’s his follow-up to his award-winning 2010 film Bad Behaviour and this time around, he’s toned down the wild waves of blood displayed in his first film for a subtler, more insidious approach to horror. Devoid of any big flashes of violence, Observance is pure psychological horror. It traces Parker’s descent into madness brought upon by the grief of his dead son and other, more nefarious forces lurking within the walls of the apartment. The festival program compares it to Polanski’s Repulsion and I’d say that’s a fair assessment. Polanski was fond of putting people in apartments and driving them insane (Repulsion, Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant) and Sims-Dennet’s film fits well into that niche.

Lindsay Farris (who also starred in Bad Behaviour) is in every scene and does a bang up job carrying the film. Parker’s past is painted in patches of grey and Farris does well portraying that shadiness. We learn that his son recently passed away and the hospital bills are crippling, which is why he took on such a sketchy but lucrative gig. The grief he carries begins to manifest itself within the apartment in progressively more terrifying ways. Rather than straight up shock the audience, Sims-Dennet allows the paranoid terror to get under our skin and fester.

For example, there’s a jar of black fluid inside the apartment. How it got there and what exactly it is go unexplained, but I cringed every time it made an appearance. I hate that jar.

Aside from a few scenes, Observance takes place entirely in the apartment. The moments staged outside its walls feel jarring and take us out of the film to a degree. They suit their purpose well (particularly a fishing scene) but after spending so much time cooped up with Parker, watching his psyche dissolve, these scenes slacken the tension a bit. These outdoor scenes are slim, thankfully, and the film nevertheless successfully heaps on tension until its powerful final moments.

The theme of grief and the idea of someone watching the watcher make for a primo combination to explore in a psychological horror film. Observance pulls it off extraordinarily well. Its layers of terror and paranoia build up throughout and from the first frame there’s a creepiness to it all that consumes the audience. It’s certainly one to seek out and was easily one of the best and most unique works of horror coming out of Fantasia this year.

Patrick writes stuff about stuff for Bloody and Collider. His fiction has appeared in ThugLit, Shotgun Honey, Flash Fiction Magazine, and your mother's will. He'll have a ginger ale, thanks.

Indie

“Bite Size Short: Her House of Horrors” Announce Short Grant Program!

Published

on

Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.

The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.

The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:

“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.

“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.

“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.

“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”

Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.

WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.

To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.

Continue Reading