“Emptiness” Is A RedTinted Nightmare [Fantasia 2023 Review]

Premiering at this year's Fantasia Festival, director Onur Karaman's The Emptiness ( Where Atilla Passes , Breathe ) is the latest in a long line of groundbreaking experimental films that elevate mood over substance. Here a clear parallel can be drawn between Karaman's work and that of the contemporary master of this form, Osgood Perkins. Stylistically, Karaman draws inspiration from the horrors of Roman Polanski and more recently Mark O'Brien's The Righteous , a monochromatic melodrama exploring psychosis, paranoia and atmospheric horror. Stylistically , Void is a great match, even if the captivating narrative unfolds quickly, leaving stunning visuals and little depth.

Suzanne's (Stephanie Britton) husband is missing and after his search fails, two guardians (Julie Trepanier and Anna Redwald) arrive. Varying between helpfulness and veiled animosity, these women keep Susan from leaving the house, especially when it comes to the shed outside. Paranoia runs rampant, visions appear throughout the house, as Susan loses her already tenuous connection to reality. Simon Lacelle's voice blends cutting angst, blending whispers, hisses and screams from the off-screen darkness to replace the audience's fear with Suzanne's. Thomas McNamara's stunning black and white cinematography enhances the descent into madness and last but not least , The Void still looks stunning.

Social dynamics unfold through deliberate twists and blurs. In Karman's scenarios, the apocalyptic tension transcends narrative coherence and the motivation is rarely, if ever, clear. Suzanne's pantomime of a restless woman, while arguably an effective way of maintaining interest, despite her feisty good looks, is too true to past tropes to resist any influence. Important. Suzanne's insecurities are not only a driving force in her style and storytelling, they also distract the audience from her perspective at the most pivotal moment. The cinematic tricks and bland script intentionally encourage a sense of industrialization and maintain the strange feeling that the void is little more than a film.

Borderline horror thrives on viewer identification, the ability of the unknown and outsiders to feel real, but temporarily. The title space is meant to be inclusive and vertical, though more of a distinct style based on substance, most evident in the red key image for black and white fire contrast. Sensual horror horror isn't consistently effective, but when it is, it largely depends on the cast.

At just 75 minutes long, The Emptiness easily qualifies as a feature film and it must be recognized that Karaman has not abandoned his ego to embrace it. It includes some interesting threads about insanity and madness, but only on a large scale, and the pacing contributes greatly to the drudgery, not the plot. While consistency is never the goal of the void , a stylized sense of insecurity struggles under the weight of greater aspirations that the void can never fulfill .

Fans of sultry horror will likely find positive parallels between Emptiness and other modern frontier horror releases. In between, The Void threatens to scare the crap out of its audience, and in the moments of silence, real fear and unease reign. It's a nice attempt at supernatural intellectual horror, even if overall "The Void" sounds as hollow as its title suggests.

Tags: The Void of Fantasy 2023

Rating: Movie Reviews