Impossible Horror (2017) is a film that I’ve been championing since I first watched it almost one year ago. Unfamiliar with it? Allow me to quote a little bit from my full review (available here):
Impossible Horror is a strange and singular animal, and likely to find as many confused detractors as besotted admirers. Written by Justin Decloux and Nate Wilson, it’s a film with an abundance of imagination, infectious humour, and a visual and narrative style often reminiscent of a graphic novel, manga, or, at times, a video game. It also boasts truly engaging performances by Haley Walker and Creedance Wright as the unlikely duo at the heart of a spooky, stylized, and surreal adventure-mystery.
Lily (Haley Walker) is a lone wolf and an aspiring filmmaker. Eager to finally create something worthwhile, she is unsure of her own talent and still slightly reeling from the dissolution of a relationship that seemed to undermine her confidence in her abilities. Her tastes run to low-budget horror, so it’s fitting that she soon finds herself immersed in a frightening mystery when she decides to investigate the source of a bone-chilling scream she begins to hear night after night. A chance encounter with an eccentric stranger (Creedance Wright) reignites Lily’s creative passions, and the two women face down both supernatural threats and their own personal demons on their nocturnal missions to identify and neutralize the neighbourhood menace.
Sounds great, right? Good news: the plucky little indie gem was recently released on Blu-ray, and I jumped at the chance to give the disc a quick review.
First of all, the picture and sound quality are great, but that’s not really a stand-out feature since the same can be said for most Blu-rays. No, where the Impossible Horror release stands out is in its generous helping of extra features.
The disc contains a pretty great little Making Of documentary that reveals some of the trials and tribulations endured by the filmmakers (including being forced to replace one of their leading actresses partway into filming), the choreography sessions for a few of the action sequences, and some fun film shoot camaraderie ridiculousness.
The multiple comedic shorts created for the film’s Kickstarter campaign and promotions are also featured on the disc, featuring Decloux, producer and composer Emily Milling, and an assortment of two-legged and four-legged cast and crew members. Also included are the deleted scenes, a Q&A session with Decloux and Milling, an interview with an artist whose drawings are featured in the film, a video explaining the inspirations behind the film, and a spooky horror vignette video.
I’m exhausted just typing that.
And then there are the commentary tracks.
I’m talking commentaries for EVERYTHING. Decloux and Milling go all out in recording commentaries not only for the film itself but for the promotional shorts, the Making Of, and the deleted scenes. Luckily, the pair has a breezy and hilarious rapport which makes the commentaries go down smoothly. It’s always interesting to hear the reasoning behind editing decisions, so I’m especially fond of discs which include commentaries for deleted scenes. There are six different commentary tracks for the film itself, featuring an assortment of cast and crew.
As an Impossible Horror stan, I may be slightly biased. (I harassed the producer multiple times via Facebook, asking when the film would get a disc release so that I could see it again. Now that I own the Blu-ray, I can start begging her to release the soundtrack.) But, if you’re looking for a horror film that is a little bit off the beaten path, I do recommend picking up Impossible Horror. It’s quirky, it has heart, and it revels in its endearing strangeness.
Kind of like me.
Score: 7.5 out of 10 haunting screams.
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