There
is well-lighted parking and a conscientious security guard, but nobody feels
safe in Lily’s apartment complex—with good reason. People have disappeared here
before. Plus, there is the regular nightly scream—as in “the Scream.” It freaks
her out, but it might just rekindle her passion for filmmaking, if she can
resist the urge to curl up into a fetal ball of fear in Justin Decloux’s Impossible Fear (trailer here), which screens
during the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s annual Scary Movies series.
Impossible is bound to be
divisive, because Decloux withholds a great deal of context and background in
the early scenes. Frankly, we are even more in the dark than Lily—and she seems
pretty clueless. We can deduce her apartment is haunted and the uncanny
business there is somehow related to the supernatural cult of hoodie-shrouded punks,
who seem to appear after the nightly scream. It is indeed a scream in the night
of unknown origin. After each shriek, a new clue mysteriously appears, some of
which are cool and some are grotesque.
Just
when she resolves to document this eerie phenomenon, Lily meets Hannah, a
long-time “Scream-chaser.” It seems like Hannah is not intimidated by the
Scream, the “Hoodies,” or the security guard who always turns up at the wrong
time. She might even become something like a friend to the shy Lily, but just
when they think they are close to solving the mystery, the new clues send them
tumbling deeper down the rabbit hole.
Reportedly,
Decloux was influenced by J-horror films, which makes sense. Although he does
not use any identifiable tropes (like long-haired uncanny women), there is
something about the vibe that feels akin to classic Japanese horror. Even at
night-time, their environment is bright and chilly. There is just an over-riding
sense that nobody is ever safe.
That
feeling of tangible vulnerability is a major reason why Impossible is one of the creepiest, most unsettling horror films of
the year. Decloux also has a knack for doling out small but tantalizing
revelations that set the hook deeper, while still maintaining the overall
mystery. Frankly, the audience will often be confused by what is unfolding, but
it is always clear Decloux knows exactly what’s what. We have no idea what the
rules are, yet we can tell he has strictly abided by them.
Haley
Walker and Creedance Wright are both terrific as Lily and Hannah, but in very
different ways. Walker’s Lily is so twitchy and standoffish, she makes it even
more difficult for viewers to get their bearings. In contrast, Wright is
refreshingly bold and maybe even a little nutty, but in a way that wears well. She
is definitely a wild card, who further destabilizes the situation, but she is
also acutely human.
Impossible has a harshly
digital look, but that actually suits it quite well. It is a hyper-real film,
in which every crazy incident looks weirdly believable, like the haunted high
school hallway video on YouTube. The backstory created by Decloux and
co-screenwriter Nate Wilson is so sinister and intriguing, it could easily
sustain a sequel or a prequel. Very highly recommended, Impossible Horror screens Sunday night (8/19) at the Walter Reade,
as part of Scary Movies XI.