I don't normally enjoy horror as I have a very vivid imagination but I took a chance on 'Charismata' by Andy Collier and Tor Mian knowing full well I'd probably be signing up for nightmares for a couple of weeks after...! It's an intensely thought-provoking and unsettling film. I caught it at Starburst Media City Film festival and every single facet is brilliant. Sarah Beck Mather deserves every single award she has won as Rebecca Faraway; she is simply riveting to watch and gives a nuanced and complex portrayal of a woman struggling to keep what's real and what is her fraying mind playing tricks on her separate. Jamie Sattherthwaite is perfect as Mr Sweet the main suspect of Rebecca's investigations into a series of grisly murders. The line "It's as bloody as a virgin on her period after a gang bang" by one of the medical examiners early on in the film sets the scene perfectly. Eli Smith played by Adonis Anthony is very easy to dislike with his constant badgering and dismissal of everything poor Rebecca does, and the rest of the police force/investigative team aren't much better. You can certainly understand how that every day would drain on her. The scene at the pharmacy is a perfect microcosm of her life battering away at her mental defences; the female pharmicist's bitchy final remark the icing on the cake. The cinematography is gorgeous throughout - my personal favourite scene being the initial questioning of Mr Sweet in which his repetition of 'No' as though he is completely unconcerned about his situation, the smug look on his face and leading on to the shot of him through the glass with the detectives reflections surrounding him. Gripping. The score was fantastic at ratcheting up the suspense and eerieness too. The only thing I didn't particularly like was the final VFX shot of Faraway's body heat. I was left reeling after the final scene, and questioning what was real and what wasn't in much the same way I was for 'Inception' by Christopher Nolan. I highly recommend you watch it. Brilliant work by everyone involved!
Review of Charismata
