Hey folks, Valkor here. You ever have that little voice inside
your head just keeps naggin at ya and naggin at ya until finally
you just succumb to it and run stark naked through the lobby of
the Bellagio in Vegas? Anyone? Anyone? Yea me neither, I wouldn't
know anything about that or that old lady who gave me an old fashioned
in the bathroom. But compared to poor John Dodd, who's the main
character in the short film "Familiar" (written and directed by
Richard Powell, produce by Zach Green), I'd say those 20 hours
community service was "getting off" rather easy. Spoilers Ahead
Familiar is a psychological horror that centers on John Dodd (Robert Nolan) and the story is narrated by his inner voice. John is a family man who at this point resents the life he has with his wife Charlotte (Astrida Auza) and daughter Jordan (Cathryn Hostick), and he simply wants out. How he'll go about doing it, he's not really sure. But he and his inner voice have something cooked up. But when his wife drops the baby bombshell, John feels that his wife is conspiring to keep him locked within this hellhole of a life. His inner voice has a plan and guides John to take drastic action, which ultimately leads to poisoning his wife. But John has an awakening of sorts and refuses to go through with it causing a conflict between je and his inner voice. When he awakens the following day, he finds his face covered in blood. And upon closer examination he sees a strange growth on his stomach, which later moves to his back and finally his leg where John traps the growth, cuts open his leg revealing a parasitic creature that's been controlling him the whole time.
Mind officially blow.
So, what starts out as nothing more than inner monologue turns into something much, much more horrifying that it will literally make your skin crawl. But we'll save that kinda talk for the TOV Breakdown.
The Good:
Familiar is without a doubt 23 minutes of pure awesome! The story is simply amazing and I wish it was a bit longer, but that's OK because what's presented is pretty straightforward with a nice twist towards the end. Acting nods go out to Robert Nolan whose smooth voice is very convincing and really carries the film, but overall I think everyone did an amazing job. Production values are high and completely unexpected for this type of film, but Familiar was shot beautifully. Finally the parasitic growth, when it makes its first appearance - I was like ok this is interesting. However I was floored when the creature fully emerged. I didn't expect to be as grossed out as I was. Mind you as I write this, I'm not even watching the film and just the thought of that creature (before and after it makes its appearance) makes me cringe. But in the end Familar is short, creepy, terrifying… I loved it! Great job!
The Bad:
N/A
The Ugly:
Did I mention the creature before and after it emerges from John's body? Yea, that!
So the big question is: when will you guys get the chance to see Familiar for yourselves? Well I'm not exactly sure, but if you head on over to the official Facebook page, I'm sure you'll get more information as it emerges. And when that time does come, do not pass up the chance to check it out. So, out of TOV 5 stars, I'm giving Familiar a perfect 5. Now I'll need to watch something that'll take my mind off of all that creepiness.
