Faye, 2021.
Directed by Kd Amond.
Starring Sarah Zanotti.
SYNOPSIS:
A self-help writer retreats to a getaway cabin to finish her latest book but comes face to face with demons from her past.
Faye is at once an impressive piece of indie filmmaking and a frustrating one; impressive because it is basically a one-actor performance detailing the breakdown of a woman who has suffered a series of terrible events and goes through a whole heap of emotions whilst trying to come out the other side. This idea is presented through the filter of a horror movie, where the titular Faye (Sarah Zanotti, who also co-wrote the script along with director Kd Amond), a self-help author, is alone in a writing retreat and battles her demons – in this case represented by a demonic depiction of herself – whilst working through her grief and guilt of a previous event.
However, Faye is also frustrating in the fact that it isn’t something you can easily return to, given that its horror movie leanings are very sparse and misleading, even to the point that Faye herself questions whether there is a supernatural presence where she is staying (and is mocked for asking). The only haunted presence in the cabin is Faye herself, and her process of dealing with grief and loss is the most frightening thing of all.
When Faye first goes to the cabin we don’t know exactly what her deal is; she has vivid facial scarring and she talks to somebody we can’t see, but we learn she is a self-help guru and her publisher – a disembodied voice on the phone whom we never see – is demanding some progress on Faye’s latest book, offering Faye a week’s peace and quiet at the cabin to get something written. Thoughts of I Spit on Your Grave come to mind when the lone female writer arrives and there is a construction site next door, which would inevitably mean unwanted male attention in any other horror movie, but Faye’s only other interactions come via her phone, either by talking to people or filming her latest website updates.
It becomes clear very quickly that Faye has issues as she gets drunk and sees a presence in the cabin, waking up with bruises on her stomach the next morning. She also has flashbacks of a car accident and the details of her past begin to make sense as it turns out her husband was killed in the accident and Faye blames herself. From then on Faye becomes a relentless barrage of monologues and stream-of-consciousness thoughts vocalised by grief, depression and drink until the visions become too much and Faye takes action against her inner demons, hoping for resolution one way or another.
Broken up into sections and peppered with Faye’s diary-like narration, spoken whilst sat under a spotlight like a stand-up comedian, Faye will no doubt be a calling card for both its star and director, and rightly so as it is a very nuanced and immaculately performed study of grief, the sort of movie that film students could take any amount of analysis or technique from and be inspired by. It also has the potential to make a great play, using different actors to add alternate moods or voices, or tweaking Faye’s background to reflect whatever the current issues or social concerns are; the possibilities are numerous.
With the honour of being the first US-made full-length film to feature a performance from a single actress, Faye certainly speaks the language of horror movies and will appeal to a genre audience but if you go into it expecting monsters and madness you may be disappointed, even though that is exactly what you are getting, albeit in a less literal way.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
