MyIndie Productions’ ‘Ivy’ (2017) – Movie Review

Ivy is a 2017 psychological thriller horror short about a young man’s struggle to deal with the loss of the love of his life by refusing to leave his home, despite the well-meaning encouragement from him friends. He’s been alone for weeks and can barely stand to leave his bathroom, never mind his cluttered apartment. His friends try to get him to leave… they beg, guilt and even bully him. But the loss of Ivy is too much for him to bear.

Synopsis:

Rick is a young man living in a nice apartment who seems to be having difficulty going outside ever since his girlfriend mysteriously left. The people around him seem to be trying to push him toward leaving the apartment and moving on with his life, but not everything is as it appears to be…

Ivy was written and directed by MyIndie Productions’s Itai Guberman (Third Temple 2014 – read our review here). The film was co-produced by Guberman and Asaf Angel. The small cast includes Dan Shaked (Jobs 2013), Gita Amely (Youth 2013), Zach Cohen (Another World 2014), Einav Markel (Tubianski 2014), and Debbie Levin (The Composer 2019).

What Works

I love how bright and clean this short is. The filmmakers could easily have made Rick’s (Shaked) apartment a pigsty, especially considering the amount of time he’s spent there. It makes the twist all the more powerful. I also like how the young man’s friends visit him constantly, almost like their immutable presence acts as the guilt over what happened to Ivy. The story itself is unique and creative, and I can honestly say I was shocked by the twist.

What Doesn’t Work

It’s assumed that Rick hasn’t left his house since he lost Ivy. Yet he doesn’t seem to worry about food, clean clothes, or even going to the package store, despite his relatively healthy appearance and embarrassing collection of beer bottles. Seeing how well-supplied he seemed to be took me out of the story a little bit.

Final Thoughts

MyIndie Production’s horror short, Ivy, is a surprisingly unique tale that starts off in one place but lands in a totally different neighborhood. If you get the chance once it releases on May 1, 2021 on VOD, then check this one out!