Familiar (2011) Review

There are some movies that aren’t easily categorized or defined. They manage to bend outside of the realm of constant films, and stand out. Most of us probably can’t relate to a mild-aged man, married with a teenage daughter (I know I can’t), but maybe you find something Familiar in what is witnessed in this short film.

Familiar is a short film directed by Richard Powell, which introduces us to John (Robert Nolan); a man living in boring suburbia with his wife and teenage daughter, who keeps to his thoughts. And we follow those thoughts the entire film, listening to every word that maybe we shouldn’t hear. He loathes his family’s existence, believing they can truly do nothing right. He narrates their mundane activity and ridicules them without saying a word. When it seems like John is going to take matters into his own hands, and induce his family to a forever sleep, his wife announces she’s pregnant. Like a schizophrenic episode, John begins to battle himself over how to regain control. And that’s when things get worse.

I felt psychologically pushed at the start of the movie. Here is a man who has no seemingly real problems, but possesses thoughts drenched in hatred and malice towards his wife and daughter. And they seem to be completely oblivious to this as John remains very solemn in their presence. Each scene transitions from one fade-out to the next, pulling you closer into his twisted inner monologue. It was like listening to a book-on-tape but with the added level of visual effects. As the story develops with John’s wife being pregnant, you grow extremely uncomfortable with his new level of deviousness that foreshadows on worse things to come. More information could’ve allowed the viewer to become more invested in the characters, as they lacked in compelling qualities. But it was certainly eerie and awkward, causing just enough of an impression.

My Savage Score for Familiar is a neutral 3 out of 5. The creators picked a great voice to carry the film, and the ending was as good as could be, but there was plenty of room for character development. Gore score is 5 out of 10. The ending will give you oozing satisfaction. This film gives hatred a body all its own. If you’re lucky enough to catch this short, open your ears and your eyes to the Familiar.