Logline:
A psychology student attempts to cure her sister’s crippling psychosis only to expose them both to its origin: an ancient creature intent on claiming their souls.
Breaking Glass releases some truly magnificently, unique, and trippy films—many of them indie productions that would fly under most radars. I often consider myself truly fortunate to be able to watch their bizarre offerings, be they potential cult classics or unfortunate flops. It’s like rolling the dice or betting on the river, never quite knowing if this one will be a winner. Our latest gamble is Alexandra Senza’s Flee The Light, a tale of witchcraft, sisterhood, blood and heretical heredity. The film stars Annie Tuma, Ariana Marquis, Canadian singer/songwriter Jane Siberry, Jamar Adams Thompson, Caroline Raynaud and Leanne Ofori-Atta.
The film focusses on the relationship between sisters, Andra and Delfi, one seemingly losing their mind and the other trying to drag her back to reality—but when the one’s delusions start to manifest their way into the real world, both need to deal with shocking revelations about their past and that their shared ancestry that may or may not be driving them mad. Unfortunately, the film’s many weaknesses outweigh the few positives and I found myself, for the most part, bored stiff throughout the viewing.
Firstly, the score is completely manic, changing tempo on the fly and never sticking to one theme but rather whatever the composer felt was right for the moment; anything from industrial to orchestral to techno to haunting ambiance, all within the spans of a scene. It was—for me—overbearing. The sound quality and effects themselves were fine but failed to mesh well with the jarring composition accompanying them.
The script is basically a single concept drawn out over the film’s entirety; a concept that is never really fully explained. They are witches that were witches before, but one did something that cursed another and now that curse needs a sacrifice because there is something that requires a sacrifice for the bad thing that was done, which was some kind of “fruit of knowledge” reference in the form of a hallucinogen? So, perhaps an eternal bad trip that haunts generations of witches because of something. It was really convoluted and I clearly missed the point, but perhaps the onus is on me.
The acting was fine. Just fine though. The two leads were by far the best, with the supporting cast falling a little short. The cinematography oftentimes matched the manic nature of the score and I suppose that it was—again—fine for an indie production. The production value felt cheap and I think that hurt the film more than anything, though I’ve seen hundreds of indie films and many were able to do more with less. The VFX were one of the few things that I did take to, though only for a few of the scenes.
Unfortunately, the film is incredibly forgettable, which is definitely going to be its biggest downfall. There were no chances taken with a compelling antagonist (which is nothing but The Darkness) or an attempt to pull an interesting plot twist. There was nothing new, unique, or stand out for me and I cannot bring myself to recommend the film. Breaking Glass does have some gems in its catalogue but Flee The Light is not one of them. Thanks for reading and as always, stay sordid. Flee the Light was released on February 15th on iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, Vudu, Vimeo, and through local cable & satellite providers.
