Written and directed by Clara Gabrielle, co-written by lead actress Marie Laurin, after a life shattering trauma, an art therapist seeks to escape her past by moving to new surroundings. As she attempts to focus on her fledgling career as a painter, she soon realizes you can’t outrun memories. Also starring: Delilah Camille Schneider, Grainne McDermott, Michael Schulte, Toni Torres, Mitchell DeGuzman, Sandy Trejo, Daphne Gabriel and Jongman Kim.
When you look at The Uncanny as a whole, it’s almost like a very non-traditional horror anthology, there’s a lot of smaller stories revolving around its central character. It dips in and out of different times and lives, which comes with its advantages and disadvantages. It’s a choice that offers a lot of freedom to explore different styles, to bring through a huge colour palette and to play around with a blend of genres from drama to thriller to horror and maybe a touch of comedy here and there.
However, it can also make the film feel very chaotic, it has a certain manic and distracted energy which makes it difficult to lock into. There’s a certain surreal energy at work which while it does blend everything together, it isn’t always smooth. It doesn’t feel as though it took the time to more keenly define its story, to create a bigger separate between its leading character and the ghosts of the past. The introduction to the house’s many tenants doesn’t feel clear, not quite guiding its audience but handing them the pieces to put together.
Although one of the things that does quickly pique your interest is the eccentric and strange ragtag bunch of characters at its heart. They can be a little over the top and highly dramatic but that holds a particular charm so long as you’re open to it. Marie Laurin leads the way as Zouzou with confidence and assuredness in her quirky, original nature. She has a hugely sensitive nature and that plays strongly into the progression of the film, but she also has a lot of compassion and a sense of humour. She’s then supported by a great ensemble, who all have a massively varied mix of personalities to bring to the table.
The Uncanny is a chaotic, energetic and quirky mix of characters, trapped within a cascade of grief and trauma. It’s a genuinely unusual mix and while its execution can be messy and erratic, there’s a great concept at its roots. It feels as though it needed to settle a little more to let the story flow more naturally and clearly, to define its blend of past, present and the surreal. It also doesn’t quite embrace its psychological horror nature, the hints are there but it feels like it was holding back.
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