Psyche - FrightFest Glasgow Scottish Premiere Review
Director: Stephon Stewart
Starring: Sarah Ritter, Eva Ariel Binder, Rodrigo Varandas, Danielle Cichon
Written by: Stephon Stewart, Gibran Lozano
Produced by: Stephon Stewart, Tracy Keyser
Cinematography by: Aitor Uribarri
Original Score by: Tom Hawk
Synopsis:
Adrift in limbo, a young woman and computer embark on a quest to uncover the meaning of life.
Thoughts:
From the Writer/Director of 'Bigfoot Country' comes an impressive, existential quasi horror film starring Sarah Ritter as Mara, a woman stuck in limbo during a near death experience who must traverse her way across a barren desert in search of the answers that will free her from her ethereal prison. Guiding her is a 1980s style computer monitor that has the ability to not only communicate with Mara but also show her graphics as part of a "game" that will allow her to find her way.
At only 71 minutes long 'Psyche' is as much a piece of fantasy as it is horror in that it presents itself somewhat as a dream, full of surreal imagery that is disjointedly pieced together creating a slow-building but intriguing narrative about a broken girl trying to repair herself. It's beguiling to begin with then sort of fizzles out a bit in the middle, before an incredibly captivating final sequence.
I'm not entirely sure where it was shot (maybe somewhere in the Mojave Desert) but the dusty, desolate location is breathtaking and Aitor Uribarri photographs Mara against this bleak and lonesome backdrop in such a beautiful way. It's the highlight of the film for me.
Sarah Ritter does a phenomenal job in carrying the entire film singlehandedly and we can really feel her struggle along the way. She's literally only working with a few props and the nontraditional, almost hynpnagogic narrative can be abit challenging at times but stick with it. Technically there are other "characters" that show up in the film and through intention or not, it very much has David Lynch's fingerprints all over it.
'Psyche' might be the type of film that requires or even deserves numerous viewings for it to really leave it's mark but it's certainly a film that I won't forget about anytime soon.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️½
-Gavin Logan
'Psyche' received its Scottish premiere at FrightFest Glasgow on March 6th
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