Rating: C+
Dir: Justin Decloux
Star: Haley Walker, Creedance Wright, April Etmanski, Aleks Vujosevic
I think I would believe you, if you told me this was based off an unused script from Doctor Who. Probably one from a series opener, introducing a new companion. It has the same mix of quirky characterization with an imaginative scenario. Unfortunately, by the end, you realize exactly why it was an unused script. This does a good job of setting the table, and maybe even of serving the meal. It then wanders off to sprawl on the couch without even putting the pots and pans in the sink. Lily (Walker) is just getting over a break-up, and her sleep is disturbed every nightly by a piercing scream – one it appears nobody else can hear.
While trying to find the source of the scream, she encounters The Doctor Hannah (Wright), who knows a lot more about the phenomenon. She has been investigating it for a while, and has discovered the scream is followed by the arrival of a mysterious artifact, ranging from a typewriter to a stuffed animal filled with blood. The two pair up, despite the threat of the apartment complex security guard, and a mysterious bunch of hoodies (perhaps a nod to Hot Fuzz) with implausible kung-fu skills. What the heck is going on? This starts as the question Hannah and Lily are asking. By the end, it might be one the typical viewer will be shouting at the screen. I’ve seen the word “Lynchian” used, which could be considered a warning.
You will need to be patient as the pieces are assembled. Yet initially, it’s done with enough skill to keep you intrigued, and slightly disturbed. For example, Lily’s encounter with a woman wielding a pair of scissors (Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman anyone?). We eventually get caught up to Hannah. If we may not have all the answers, or indeed, any of them, at least we understand the question. This is when the film is at its peak, slowly revealing the truth about the past, and previous efforts to investigate the scream. But the cracks are beginning to show, in particular, with Lily’s insistence on recording proceedings on her phone, in nausea-inducing shakycam. It’s the last thing I or the film needed.
Indeed, in hindsight, the whole conceit of Lily being an amateur film-maker seems quite self-indulgent. Hannah is supportive to an almost creepy extent. She says, “I’ve known a lot of people to give up on their dreams, and it’s effectively the end of their lives. I don’t believe in giving up on stuff. Promise me you’ll finish this,” which also sounds like the kind of life-affirming advice David Tennant might provide. Still, a bigger problem is Lily’s apparent descent into madness for the final act. This coincides with the film’s shift into that Lynchian territory mentioned and, not coincidentally, my loss of interest. Shame, because the first half definitely did enough right, before falling into a chasm of questionable incoherence.