It’s pretty much accepted as an infallible rule that independent “art-house” films are the sub-genre with the greatest difficulty in appealing to the majority of movie-goers. While some say that this is due to the closed-mindedness of general audiences, others accuse indie filmmakers of creating excessively dense and “niche” projects that casual viewers find off-putting. Whatever the true answer is, it’s no small miracle that Billy Ray Brewton’s low-budget thriller Show Yourself works as both a mainstream ghost story and an in-depth character study.
Show Yourself stars Ben Hethcoat as Travis, a young actor undertaking a sabbatical in the wilderness after the suicide of his close friend Paul. Though Travis plans on scattering Paul’s ashes in the woods in order to achieve some form of closure, hidden forces seem intent on communicating with him from beyond the grave. Frightened and alone, Travis slowly realizes that saying goodbye is often easier said than done, and begins to question his own role in his friend’s death.
In less-capable hands, this plot could have easily turned into boring art-house schlock, but Brewton manages to find a surprising balance between the script’s clever meta-textual moments and genuine human emotion. The horror of this ghost story is toned down, in favor of a down-to-earth tale of grief and redemption that feels extremely refreshing after so many repetitive haunted house movies. In fact, it’s made apparent quite early in the film that Travis can simply walk away from the wilderness at any time, but chooses not to, in order to possibly find out what drove his friend to kill himself.
Due to the main character’s self-imposed solitude, Show Yourself almost exclusively relies on Hethcoat’s performance to work. Luckily, he’s more than capable of tackling this emotionally complex protagonist as he’s haunted by feelings of guilt and regret. There are a few supporting characters, however, such as Travis’s estranged girlfriend Nikki (played by Corsica Wilson) and his friend Adam (played by David McElwee), but these mostly appear through the crafty incorporation of digital media such as Skype and FaceTime. This gives Hethcoat something to react to, while simultaneously deepening his isolation.
Show Yourself isn’t a particularly scary movie, and it does retain a few of those infamous indie film mannerisms here and there, but it also carries a certain charm that’s lacking in many independent features these days. While you shouldn’t expect to be blown away by production value and never-before-seen locations, I find it hard to think of someone that won’t appreciate Brewton’s vision of a desperate man trying to escape the past and say goodbye to an old friend. This is one of those rare movies that will appeal to almost anyone just looking for a good story.
Show Yourself will be screening at the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Fest. You can find more info about the festival over here.
