- Sensibility: A couple of moments where it's hard to distinguish between the dog's fantasy and reality, but these moments play into the horror aspects of the film beautifully.
- Cinematography: Visually striking. Lots of great use of light. Camera direction and framing are near genius level, giving the dog unbelievable emotional depth. Production design is excellent, and even some cliche use of old films, tv, and found footage plays well.
- Energy: The run-time is so short that this film flies by with ease. However, there is a bit of repetition of imagery and plot points that feel redundant.
- Narrative: Brilliant story encapsulating a dog's kind of horror. It is surprising how a story about a dog can feel so human. There is a great bit of spirituality sprinkled throughout the film with the dog experiencing
connections to his owner's past and previous animals as well as the demons and apparitions he encounters. The film does a great job of portraying the dog's experience, largely focused on sensory perception, while still
providing enough substance for the human viewer to understand the plot progression.
- T-Points: The film received five bonus points: one for an unbelievable shot captured from the reflection in a dog's eye, one for a shot of Indy looking down a basement stairwell, one where Indy feels the spirit of his owner's grandfather's dog while looking at an old chair, one for
a striking shot and scene where Indy makes a decision to stay or leave in the end, and one for overall brilliance with camera work and framing that give the dog an emotional range that could win him best actor.
I came in with fairly middling expectations and was blown away. Did not expect a horror film about a dog to have deep numinosity. The filmmakers do an incredible job of conveying the dog's emotions through
brilliant camera work, lighting, editing, and sound design.
Number of Watches: 1
