PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Everyone has a few skeletons in their closet, secrets they aren’t exactly proud of. What would happen if those secrets made it out into the open? That’s a horror that preys on anxiety, with a far more long-lasting impact than a monster movie. Confessional examines the damage and the danger of those secrets in a very creative way.
Confessional is a mockumentary thriller that debuted in 2019, which was written by Jennifer Wolfe (Struck 2012) and directed by Brad T. Gottfred (Orgies and the Meaning of Life 2008). Presented as a film inside a film, we watch as seven college students are being interviewed about the deaths of two of their peers, trapped inside a truth-or-consequences motif. As the story progresses, we learn more about the baggage and inter-connectivity of the seven survivors.
This movie isn’t without its faults. Because it’s so reliant on dialogue, there’s a constant wave of information being thrown at the audience. That can be overwhelming and hard to follow. There’s also quite a bit of camera-cutting, so the angles and flashbacks can quickly confuse the viewer on the timeline or the side stories. Longer takes and smoother editing sequences could’ve helped to keep the viewer engaged and give them more time to process what they heard. All in all, Confessional is an innovative and intense thriller with lots of twists and turns. At the time of this writing, this film is available to stream on Shudder.
