In just 46 minutes with a tiny cast and a single small location, creator Jerry Woods delivers a story that resonated beyond the credits.
The stark and claustrophobic setting, lit with the atmospheric glow of kerosene lanterns, supports a plot that revels in twists and loops to create a mind-messing experience.
It begins with an almost banal set-up: Long-married couple takes a vacation in a rustic cabin. Then Reality takes a hike shortly after a young girl comes trick or treating. And never returns.
The performances are solid and the flaws so minor as to pass right on by; a fright shot too quick for impact, shadows very briefly a little too thick, a reveal telegraphed.
Not even these minor flaws exist in the soundtrack. The sound is layered in, subtly enhancing the visuals without distracting from them and the score crawls up your spine and lodges in the lizard brain where primitive fear lives.
Mention must be made of the masks manifested by Dan Flanders. There are several but it is as if one is morphing into another. Collectively, they are a fourth main character and have much to tell.
Jerry Woods has tapped into something that flows beneath rational thought and has such a deft and confident touch, I believe he could make a sunlit 4th of July parade a horror show.
Review of Where Is She?
