SHE (2014)

Directed by Chelsey Burdon and Mark Vessey, Starring: Fiona Dourif, Phillip James.

Horror, Short, UK, 2014, 15mins.  

‘She’ (Fiona Dourif) is living with ‘He’ (Phillip James). Trapped in a sterile, loveless (and wordless) living hell of a relationship, ‘He’ perpetrates one final act of violation upon ‘She’ which will ultimately lead to her crafting and executing a bloody and brutal vengeance.

SHE’s world premiere took place in August this year at the prestigious FrightFest in London where it was officially selected as part of the short film showcase strand.

This is a deceptively simple short film which, upon initial viewing, you’d be forgiven for only taking away from it the final graphic imagery. But there is much more lurking beneath the surface than just its unflinching Grand Guignol climax. 

Fiona Dourif’s portrayal of ‘She’ is nothing short of mesmerising. Her face is a hypnotic canvas of subtly-shifting nuances conveying the inner turmoil of a woman battling feelings of fear and loathing followed ultimately by the transformation brought about by empowerment.

Phillip James reigns in the outward signs of hatred and brutality lurking within his character and this cold emotionless pays off as we find ourselves tip-toeing warily around him in parallel to Dourif.

SHE is a meticulously designed and executed piece of filmmaking. Symmetry is prevalent throughout: the anniversary dining table settings; the twin stork figurines on the sideboard and the reflection of Dourif’s face when it’s pressed against the shiny kitchen work surface, framed by a knife blade. The uncluttered clinical furnishings reflect the sterility of the couple’s relationship. Rather disconcertingly however there is an old-fashioned gramophone player deliberately juxtaposed against this modernity. It provides a background of crackly nostalgic old (romantic) songs which act as an aural counterpoint to the decidedly unromantic events unfolding at the dinner table. It also features in a striking camera sequence where the camera slowly zooms in on a piece of flesh before the screen dissolves to black and then as the darkness fades away the camera resurfaces  coming out of the gramophone’s horn. This sequence, enhanced superbly by the sound design reminded me of a sequence in David Lynch’s BLUE VELVET involving a dissolve into a severed ear.

Speaking of severed matters, one has to praise Paul While’s prosthetic work for providing a genuinely unforgettable and gleefully disturbing sequence which tops all other examples of this effect to date within the genre and which secures SHE a guaranteed place in the annals of extreme cinema.

Joint directors Chelsey Burdon and Mark Vessey pulled off an extraordinary coup in securing Fiona Dourif for their low-budget (£7k); Kickstarter-funded and shot in 2 days project. Clearly Fiona and the film’s Kickstarter supporters had faith in them, and having now delivered SHE, it should be clear to all who view it that this faith was entirely justified.

****(out of 5*)

Paul Worts