Guilt is a funny thing - The Disappeared (2008)

Guilt.  It can eat you up and make you sick.  You can't shake it.  On deprived and sometimes violent council estates, the sort where hope is often quashed at birth, real friends and sanity can be hard to find.  It's all too tempting to want to find an escape or just a more glamorous causes for the hole you're in.  Matt is released from a psychiatric unit for young people following the disappearance of his little brother, Tom.  But it seems other children in the area are going missing too.

After the disappearance of Tom, Matt began to see and hear things that weren't there.  His dad who still silently blames him, that's clear, sent him away to hospital for his own protection.  In flashback scenes we see that teenager Matt wasn't always the softly spoken and withdrawn boy presented to us now. The only problem seems to be that he can still see and hear things, someone in particular.  He plays a video tape of news reports recorded at the time of the search and we hear Tom calling him, and he is angry.

Matt meets a girl on the estate called Amy.  She's lonely too.  He feels compelled to confess all to her, about hearing Tom, his confusion over his father's culpability and the guilt he carries.  Amy advises him to visit the local medium who warns that their area is overrun with evil spirits.  Here we explore the possibility that the estate is cursed and there are ghosts everywhere.  And that the reason the sky seems dark and the atmosphere soulless, is because supernatural forces are at work.  Could a demon really be possessing the inhabitants?

But the scariest aspects of The Disappeared  are found in its bleakness and the neglected institutions Matt finds himself in.  A subtle demonic and religious undertone is carried, with the smooth editing ensuring your eyes are drawn to the most important parts of the picture.  It has made for TV written all over it - but then I do love TV.  Ghost stories and suspected psychosis are perfect bedfellows in horror films.  A question I never tire toying with; are they messages from beyond the grave or simply someone losing their mind?

La la la la, la la la la, la laa - Rosemary's Baby (1968)

There is a basic fear that we all have, albeit subconsciously, that all children are the spawn of the Devil and are out to get us.  Young and in love couple Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes) move in to their new apartment and soon a seemingly happy occupant throws herself from the top floor window.  To top it off their neighbours are the over familiar type, always popping by at inopportune moments and being general pains in the necks.

Guy seems totally enamoured with their elderly neighbours.  Rosemary finds them suffocating.  The lively characters, most notably Ruth Gordon, deceive them in to thinking they are innocent, they confuse and spin around them until the couple are where they are required to be.  And before they know it they're wide open, but by the time their sinister and far more competent true selves are revealed it is too late.  This is demonstrated in a bizarre scene where Rosemary thinks she is dreaming but is actually the centre of a frightening satanic ritual, surrounded by her naked neighbours standing over her in bed.  But never mind that!  They make friends and all their dreams become a reality, with Guy's acting career taking off and Rosemary becoming pregnant.  The condition doesn't suit her though and she starts to lose weight rather than gain it.  She has also developed a taste for raw meat.  All perfectly natural.

Early on the film is almost silent as they potter about their new apartment.  Demonstrating an enormous amount of mundane yet reassuring reality, with Rosemary suggesting they "make love" and her husband immediately turning out the light and spending 10 minutes getting himself undressed.  The film's atmosphere has a seamless switch when later her husband casually confesses to having sex with her while she was passed out in bed.  This signifies a huge shift in their relationship and the disintegrating trust between the couple.  A partner and a home that once was warm has now turned frosty.

Much like many of Ira Levin's female characters, Farrow plays her submissive and washed out, with any attempts at independence futile because they lack conviction.  The dark foreboding tone that's only recognised by the viewer and Rosemary early on is not without its humour as the devil worshippers attempt to ingratiate themselves within the family.  The soundtrack is an all encompassing drunken theme and gives you the impression that if you were standing you would more than likely topple over with your head spinning.  Without having to show too much the demonic forces of the film suffocate us with the constant age old warning; be careful what you wish for.

Tiredness kills - Hush (2009)

I love road trip horrors where a killer stalks his victims along a deserted road.  I don't know why though as I can barely concentrate enough to reapply my lipstick and eat a sandwich while driving let alone navigate my way around a psychotic trucker.  With his girlfriend Beth sleeping next to him, loser Zakes narrowly misses a white truck on the motorway.  Angrily the driver overtakes him causing the back shutter to momentarily lift up revealing a naked and trapped woman inside.

After calling the police, who obviously don't believe them, they give up and pull in at a service station. The couple argue and separate but when Zakes goes looking for Beth she has vanished.  After being thrown out by the security guards he gets to the car park in time to see the white truck drive away and Beth's broken necklace lying on the ground.  He follows and you're immediately transported to a modern British take on The Hitcher, only now the victim is doing all the chasing.  Zakes needs to prove that he isn't the loser everyone thinks he is.

Almost every seemingly trustworthy character turns out to be evil in some way.  So much so that every character you meet you begin to doubt the sincerity of.  Even the little old lady with the pot of tea.  What did you put in that cup, little old lady...?

There is a truly great moment when Zakes looks at his girlfriend's text messages and realises she has spent a night with another man.  Covered in blood and sweat and completely exhausted, you see his mind pause to try to decide if she's worth helping at all.  He decides she is.  Aww, young love, eh?

The setting was perfect.  I've always thought of motorway service stations as places that don't really exist.  They're on the outskirts, barely visible from the road.  Much like airports, they're neither here nor there.  Almost like no laws need to be observed.

Hush has a million plot lines that come to abrupt dead ends and never get explained, much of which would be suited to Hostel, but that's what makes it feel like a good old fashioned story.  Who needs all the facts when you've still experienced the character's fear and torment?  Although, I do feel a sequel coming on, but that might just be my cynicism.

New classic horrors - Scare Sarah Cinema (4)

Interesting happenings in the world of SCARE SARAH lately, what with the Classic Horror Campaign and its petition gathering speed.  It got me thinking about how I could incorporate mine and Cyberschiziod's love of the classics with my enthusiasm for our future classic horrors.  And nothing seems to be more accessible for budding filmmakers right now than short horror films. 

But with so much great new talent out there it is inevitable that some will never get the recognition they deserve.  I looked in to this some more and found that actually, there are a few horror film competitions out there.  So I thought to myself, why not one more...?

So here's where you come in.  I already have a great prize, which for now must be kept under wraps in case, well I'll be honest with you, in case it just can't happen.  But now I need your input.  Have you entered a film contest before?  Are you a filmmaker or has this whetted your appetite?  What makes them good or bad?  How long do you need to put your short together?  Tell me what you want.  You can email me if you prefer.  I can't promise you fame and riches but at the very least it should be scary.