Kitchen Sink

I loved this short film to pieces. When I saw it was called `The Hairy Fetus' so it took me forever to find anything on it. It was the kind of thing that I was just transfixed on the entire time. It moved along so well and got continually better and better as it went along. Then the end ending! I've never been so disgusted with a film I couldn't take my eyes off of.

I wish short films like this were more readily available so people could have access to them. Its not something you can rent. I actually caught it by accident between films on The Sundance Channel years ago, but it really stuck with me all these years. If you can catch it anywhere have a looksie.

I am the first to criticize an art film for being too, well, arty. This movie has a brilliant, original idea for a short film, and its minute budget doesn't show one bit. I had the pleasure of watching "Kitchen Sink" in one of my video production classes. Some of the films the professor showed us simply put me to sleep, but this one really caught my attention and interest. It's disturbing, but that's its intention. This is creepier than most horror movies, of past or present. Even the effects don't appear low-budget. When the woman was shaving the man and cut him with the razor by accident, I was able to feel his pain. Usually, I think novice filmmakers enjoy using black-and-white, because it looks sophisticated. Sure, a good movie is a good movie with or without color, but you can't deny that the use of color can help. Just see the brilliant use of color in Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange." In the case of this movie, I felt the black-and-white fit the tone. And the great score helped top off the film's creepy aura. So if you feel the same way I do about most art films, check this one out. Trust me, this one's actually entertaining. This is the kind of film that gives inspiration to us aspiring young filmmakers. It shows that it is possible to make an original, imaginative film with two actors, one setting and a very low budget. (8 out of 10)

This film caught my eye because it reminded me of Eraserhead, being in Black & White and having eerie sound. A woman pulls a hair out of a sink plughole. It continues to grow longer and wider, until a strange foetus emerges, and is flung out. The woman puts the object in the bath. She returns to it later to find it is now a large, excessively hairy man. She shaves the man completely, but he seems dead. She puts him into a plastic bag. He awakes, and she kisses him. Then she makes a fateful error. Worth a look.

A woman is cleaning her kitchen sink. Just when she thinks it is spotless, she notices what appears to be a strand of hair near the drain. As she pulls on it, she realizes it is coming out of the drain...and is very long. She continues to pull for a few minutes, and as it comes out, it thickens, resembling a giant umbilical cord. Soon, a nasty and hairy fetus-like creature pops out. She disposes of the mess (by putting it into a garbage bag and throwing it into the bin!) and goes on with her day. Later, she decides that she doesn't want to throw it away. She finds that she actually might have some use for it...but then things get nasty.

This beautifully shot black and white short from New Zealand is very disturbing. I was cringing through half of it because the effects looked so real. There are only two lead characters, and their performances carry this nicely. Combining the lack of other characters with the set (one empty house) creates an effective feeling of claustrophobia. There is lots of suspense and you really don't know what to expect next. The film is very open to interpretation, but I took it as a commentary on domesticity, loneliness, and the desire for perfection.

You can find this short film on the newly released DVD "Crush," also directed by Alison Maclean.

My Rating: 8/10.

The first time I saw this twisted but wonderful little film I was maybe 12 years old. I remember seeing it on television, probably broadcast as a filler after a feature film or something. It made a significant impression on me then and when I watched it again this week, it made an even greater one.

Canadian director, Alison Maclean, has created a wicked little masterpiece with this film. The way some of the shots in this film linger on dangerous moments proves her mastery of suspense. Without giving anything away, Maclean manages to show just enough of certain things to keep them unsettling and creepy.

The film is about obsession and the problems associated with dwelling on some tiny, nagging thing. The protagonist cannot leave well enough alone and so brings the real horror of the film upon herself.

This is definitely one to watch for a great example of how to create suspense.