Director: Vivian Kerr
Writer: Vivian Kerr
Stars: Scottie Thompson, Connor Paolo, Jilon Vanover, Vivian Kerr
Synopsis: In 1892 California, a Victorian woman contemplating adultery is forced to take refuge from a storm at the home of her first husband and his unstable wife, who claims to be haunted by their dead child.
Many horror films have misnomers. What the film is about is actually something else entirely. The Wicker Man is not actually about that gigantic figure, but rather about belief and the dangerous lengths people can travel. The Silence of the Lambs takes its name from one scene that, yes, tells us a lot about the characters, but is not completely integral to the plot. The list goes on and on. And the list continues with Vivian Kerr’s second feature length film, Séance. Given the title, you might think that this film is purely about contacting someone from beyond the grave. And while that may be a plot point, focusing on this misses the point entirely.
In Séance, we are first introduced to important characters, though we do not know it yet. The stylized introduction shows the drowning of a young girl, while being watched by her mother at the beach. As it slowly transitions, we are shown new characters at the same beach. Emma Strand (Scottie Thompson) is seated on a blanket with her husband, Albert (Connor Paolo). Thanks to a winning script from Kerr, a great deal of information is transmitted in a simple scene. Emma is a published (and popular novelist) and her husband is a struggling artist. He is a bit meek and timid, and she wants intimacy, closeness, and clearly, a child. There is an awkwardness in this interchange played by both Thompson and Paulo that is almost painful to watch for anyone who has been in a mismatched relationship. The couple soon encounters George Ford (Jilon Vanover) and his wife, Lillian (Vivian Kerr). The twist here is that George is Emma’s first husband and Lillian is the woman featured at the beginning who lost her child. And despite her best efforts, the sparks definitely fly between Emma and George. Quickly, they travel to George and Lillian’s home and almost immediately get trapped in a storm.
At this point, despite the titular séance not occurring yet, it becomes clear what the film is actually about: marriage. And if you have ever experienced a bad one (or seen your parents go through it), it is completely understandable as to why. Now sure, in older times, marriage was directly tied to land acquisition and downright ownership of women, so that’s already terrifying. This is why, from a writing perspective, it is so important that Emma is a more modern woman who clearly has desires and a lucrative career. Thompson’s performance is really the lynchpin of the entire film and she never disappoints. You feel her struggles, her temptations, and her desires without it ever seeming overwrought.
As we are reintroduced to Lillian, despite her odd and sometimes overtly aggressive behavior, there is an empathy engendered (partially from the script and partially from Thompson) that leads us to go along with whatever comes next. And what comes next are the horror stylings from Kerr and her truly gifted cinematographer, Johanna Coelho. Once the film moves from the bright, sunny beach to a mansion on a dark and stormy night, Séance truly opens up in incredible ways. For those of us that were raised on old horror movies, this is like catnip. Nearly the rest of the film feels filmed solely by candlelight, with shadows and surprises hiding around every corner. Even if the surprises and jump scares are slightly derivative for fans of horror, they are nonetheless effective. The mood that Séance creates is impeccable and pushes the story forward as much as creepy dolls, sounds you can’t quite tell are real, and possible evil spirits called by, you guessed it, a séance.
But again, this movie focuses on the horrors of binding yourself to one person for life. Are they right for you? And even if they are, is it worth it? What terrifying truths await you after you walk down the aisle? But maybe the most important issue it dissects is finding out if love is enough. The choice that Emma has between a well-meaning kind man and one she still has lingering passion for is a difficult one. Vivian Kerr, paired with her lead actress, Scottie Thompson, manage to craft a portrait of imperfection that seems to beg for analysis. All of the horror elements work well enough, but her examination of the difficulties of true commitment is perhaps the scariest of all.
