Sinphony is a horror anthology film Clubhouse Horror which invited new talent from around the globe to offer up original short films packaged as part of an overarching story line. I had the pleasure of chatting with the many creators involved in this series and it was a delightful experience but now it’s time to talk about the film as a whole and the individual shorts that make up this anthology.
Anthologies are a welcome tradition within the horror genre with possibly the most well known being the Stephen King/ George Romero joint effort, Creepshow. I wont say this set the bar as this is the product of a single director. This lends to each short in the series being very consistent in quality but also having a general sameness in approaching the material in terms of cinematic and storytelling techniques. While this is a great film I typically enjoy pieces like Sinphony more because I get to experience the works of writers and directors I might not have come across before. Sinphony gives us a great gaggle of unknown auteurs to experience and the results are quite entertaining.
With the stated goal of the producers being that they wanted short films that could potentially be developed into full cinematic features on their own, not all of the stories presented are able to achieve that, nor do they feel like they should. Some, however, hit that mark in grand fashion.
The throughline for the series is a demonic song, the product of the demoness Sinphony, being the warning of a great evil to come within each narrative. This creature seems to be collecting evil children as the bookend to the various stories being told. The shorts are written and directed by the same individual (in same cases more than one) per story and so you really get a good feel for what each creator has to offer, You are treated to a particular vision of writing, directing, editing and style per project and a clear voice is demonstrated with each short, allowing you to relly get to know the creators behind it.
Sinphony offers up everything one might desire in a horror anthology; there is blood and gore, there is drama and pathos, there is the macabre and even the humorous. I found each film satisfying or charming in their own ways. Most were entirely successful while I did feel one or two would benefit from a bit more development in terms of story and or character. This is a limitation of working in a short form factor witha limited amount of time given to tell these stories. The production value also has some range to it with some shorts having an astonishing amount of polish to them given the modest budget of this sort of outting. Some of the shorts achieve a truely cinematic look and feel while others feel a bit more like a television episode that something shot for the big screen. Again, project limitations are noted.
One of the things I enjoyed most was the creativity of the various directors. The stories range from horror, to mystery, to whimsy and while some were more by the number horror, which is fine mind you, others gave me something new to digest as I watched them with clever storytelling, intriguing new ideas to ponder or expressive cinematography. Another key factor was the evil song Fortress which plays its part in each short. The song is cleverly adapted to each story by the composer and fits the narratives and settings beautifully. The song is effectively both a character in and of itself in each piece and a reminder that the evil presence of Sinphony is lurking just beyond the frame of the camera lens.
Overall Sinphony is everything I want in a horror anthology, it delivers the goods, it is a place for new talent to be discovered and most importantly, it entertains. Some of the shorts left me nostalgic for the days of shows like Tales From the Crypt or Tales From the Darkside while others pleased me in an entirely new fashion. So I would recommend this film and I hope to see more from those involved in the near future.
SCORE: 4 out of 5
Produced by Screen Anthology
Written and Directed by:
Jason Ragosta, Steven Keller, Haley Bishop, Wes Driver, Mark Pritchard, Kimberley Elizabeth, Jason Wilkinson, Nicole Carlson, Michael Galvan & Sebastien Bazile
Produced by: Michael Galvan & Sebastien Bazile
ICYMI:
Comic Crusaders Special – Al & Jeff chat with the creators of Sinphony