Black Mass

Pulling us into the depths of darkness, Scott Lyus skilfully encapsulates the dreadful sorrow borne of depression: Hopelessness, indifference, melancholy, into a heartrending, psychological horror of momentous proportions.

Presenting a fresh take on a difficult subject, Black Mass not only shines a light on the dark, isolated depths of depression, moreover it spotlights in on the abundant, creative talents of Lyus himself.

The highly accomplished Johnny Vivash expertly brings an astute validity to the desolate, grief-stricken Charlie: whose heart is so broken, so full of sorrow that even the love for his daughters, sympathetically played by Sophia Eleni & Charlie Bond, fails to prevent him from falling into the ominous, sinister shadows of despair - whereupon, the terrifying Darkness relentlessly draws at his every fibre, ultimately extinguishing all meaning of life.

Neal Parson's lighting exquisitely illustrates the mood of each character and their story arc and along with Mitch Bain's perfectly aligned, pensive score, enable Lyus' grotesquely grim tale of horror to be flawlessly conveyed.

Black Mass is definitely a though provoking, heartbreaking indie horror flick. The ambience set by the incredible cinematography, the raw, realistic grief being dealt with by the family and amazing effects done on the creature all come together to create an atmosphere that captures the weight of depression.

Above all, it's a raw, visceral look into grief and depression from three different viewpoints that doesn't attempt to sugar coat or dismiss anything. It makes you understand the different sides of such emotions and why those experiencing such tough situations make the decisions that they do. It's a heartbreaking look into the vulnerability we all face when dealing with mortality, grief and depression and it was done with integrity and dignity. I've been a long time supporter of Scott's and I'm thrilled that he's continued to create such amazing work.

This has to be one of my favourite short horrors of 2019, from the Amazingly talented Scott Lyus comes a thought-provoking, spine tingling horror film, this film deals with the very hard subject of depression but it has been done in such a beautiful way, from the outstanding cinematography to the eerie soundtrack this film has everything you want from a short horror, it's a must see!