Observance (2015)

In the grip of grief following the death of his young son, his marriage on the rocks and nearing bankruptcy, Parker reluctantly returns to work as a private investigator. Embarking on an ... See full summary »

Director:

Joseph Sims-Dennett

Writers:

Joseph Sims-Dennett, Josh Zammit

Stars:

Stephanie King, Lindsay Farris, Brendan Cowell

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stephanie King	...	Tenneal / Subject 1
Lindsay Farris	...	Parker Woodhouse
Brendan Cowell	...	Employer
Christian Willis	...	Robert
Ash Ricardo	...	Receptionist
Benedict Hardie	...	Charlie
Tom O'Sullivan	...	Bret Buchanan
Gabriel Dunn	...	William Woodhouse
Abi Rose	...	Caroline
John Jarratt	...	Snitch
Joseph Sims-Dennett	...	Walter S. Moore
Louisa Mignone	...	Rachel Woodhouse
Roger Ward	...	Conspirator
Baxter	...	Rat

Storyline

In the grip of grief following the death of his young son, his marriage on the rocks and nearing bankruptcy, Parker reluctantly returns to work as a private investigator. Embarking on an unusual assignment to observe a woman from an abandoned apartment, Parker witnesses bizarre happenings surrounding her, unaware that the derelict building that he surveys her from has birthed a dark presence which slowly threatens to consume him.

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Plot Keywords:

australian supernatural | australian horror | 

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Taglines:

They Are Watching

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 2016 (Kuwait)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sterling Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

An effective slow-burn that will crawl under your skin

Filmed on the director's credit card over an 11 day period during the hottest heatwave on record in Sydney Australia, Observance is certainly a film that defies its beginnings and conception to showcase an impressively dread laden tale that displays a palpable sense of terror of malevolence from the first frame through to its last confronting and shocking finale.

Director Joseph Sims-Dennett crafts his second feature length film in a manner that is not dissimilar to films such as Rear Window (the spying and voyeurism), Ti West's The House of the Devil (pacing and incoming sense of evil) and even Ben Wheatley's Kill List (in the way it culminates into an uncompromising crescendo) and despite being largely confined to a rundown apartment building for a majority of its runtime, Observance never lets its tight confines strangle its atmospheric nature and intriguing plot that covers loss, mental health and a seriously bad fever.

On face value Sims-Dennett and co-writer Josh Zammit's story may seem slight, grieving man accepts job that involves watching pretty women for a mysterious client, but like a large portion of other successful psychological and slow burning horrors, Observance draws the audience in only to confront them with some terrifying scenarios that are delivered in low key ways to make them that much more effective.

The major drawback of Sims-Dennett's fine work however is the fact he hides the films heritage as an Australian film by having his cast led by the committed Lindsay Farris as tortured soul Parker speak in American accents, which so often is the case when local films try for this, distracts from some of the films tense moments, never more so highlighted by local industry vet and Mick Taylor himself John Jarrett's brief cameo around the midpoint of the film. It would've been great to see Sims-Dennett embrace the films origins (even at the cost of appealing to overseas audiences) but it still doesn't deter from the fact this is one of the most impressive low budget Australian offerings of the decade.

Observance acts as a finely tuned calling card for Sims-Dennett who could quickly become one of Australia's newest directing white knights and there's little doubt that Hollywood will come calling to a filmmaker that has both the determination and skill to pull off tricky subject matters and while Observance may waver slightly in certain elements and executions, its often downright masterful in the way it delivers its chills and Horror aficionados alongside Australian cinema fans would do well to seek it out.

3 ½ ominous jars out of 5