Fishbrain Review

“Why don’t you just sit here and rot?” – Ori

One of the many reasons I love reviewing films is that every so often, I stumble across some thing that’s really cool and rewarding. Fishbrain is in THAT category. Here’s a little bit of behind the scenes info, okay? When I review short films that are on the festival rounds, I’m going in blind. I’m either given a list of titles to choose from as happens with HollyShorts, or a PR company invite me to have a look at a screener.

In this case, it was the title that piqued my curiosity. Fishbrain? What does that even mean? So, due to my love of the off-kilter and the out of the ordinary, I accepted the offer and watched. I’m glad I did.

Fishbrain is the latest film by London based writer/director Max Venderspuy for his independent film production company Viridian Films. It has already won an award for best production design in the short film category.

The folklore based film begins with an ecological catastrophe, which is causing thousands of dead fish to wash ashore, covered in lesions and an unsightly black fluid inside them. Our story takes place on the coast of Dover, within sight of the White Cliffs. In a cottage on the coastline, we meet Ora (Chloe Lea) a teenager who lives with her grandfather Jeb (John Henshaw). Ora is doing her best to look after her dependent grandfather after the presumed death of her Grandmother, who walked into the sea and was gone.

Their relationship is strained to the point of fracture. Every day, Ora, frustrated that she should be in her second year of higher education, goes to the beach to collect some of the fish from the shore, takes them home and cooks them for the ungrateful old man. Jeb is bitter, belligerent and perpetually hostile, whiling his days sitting in front of his television set while the cottage crumbles all around him.

One might, at this point assume that it’s a film about toxic relationships, a mismatch of old and young with resentments borne from different points of view fuelling the mutual contempt as it approaches open, mutual hatred – and to a point, you’d be correct. One might assume that the fish are poisoned and that Ora wants to dispose of her relative by feeding him the tainted meals – and you might be right these as well.

But you’d also be wrong.

Because as well as all of the above, this is also a body horror film with a transformation scene that seems far beyond the scope of a short festival movie in its execution and the special effects involved. Just as we think we’re in for a cosy murder/domestic drama, Vanderspuy pulls the rug out from under our feet (or at least lifts a few floorboards) and drops us, unexpectedly in to a scenario we never saw coming.

Fishbrain showcases this director’s mastery of twisted storytelling with an expertly delivered twist to the fin.

Rob Rating = 9