PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Anxiety is a monster. Even on two separate medications for my own anxiety disorder, the illness is still prone to snarl its teeth and tear at my throat from time to time. Fear and dread are my life partners, and they’re both stone-cold bitches who are nearly impossible to live with. The Old Woman Who Hid Her Fear Under the Stairs is a showcase for that constant struggle, handled with care by writer/director Faye Jackson.
The short film, which screened as part of the Born Of A Woman block at Fantasia Fest, follows an elderly woman (Sara Kestelman) through her daily bouts with fear and anxiety. She spends her time cooped up in her home, reading frightful newspaper articles and worrying about the state of the world. At night, she can’t bring herself to sleep without the light of her bedside lamp because, even in her safe place, she doesn’t trust the environment around her.
Desperate to find relief from her anxious feelings, the woman searches the internet and finds a success-guaranteed method. To unlock the learning portion of the video, however, she’s asked to make a nearly $80 payment. Well aware that she may be falling prey to an internet scam, she hesitates only briefly, then reaches for the credit card in her purse. The slight chance of being healed is worth the risk.
The tutorial notes that the most important ingredient in the process’ success is for her to fully believe that it will work, despite the bizarre instructions. When she accepts the words of the video to be true, she’s instructed to retrieve her favorite cloth from the kitchen and clutch it tightly to the part of her body where her fear is stored. She does so, and is further ordered to pull the fear from her body. Upon doing so, her fear is physically manifested as a growling shape beneath the cloth. The video’s final instruction tells her to shut her fear in a tin can and stick it somewhere that she’ll never have to see it again.
She wakes up the following morning, seemingly healed of all her anxiety. She dances around the house, drinks a little booze, and reads the newspaper without any trouble. When she notices a mysterious man watching her house at night, though, her fear begins making a racket that can’t be ignored.
The Old Woman Who Hid Her Fear Under the Stairs triumphantly blends elements of fantasy and horror, with a remarkable, almost wordless performance from Sara Kestelman as the titular character. Kestelman adequately captures the anguish of anxiety through little more than facial expressions. It’s the sort of attention-demanding performance that will surely gather awards recognition.
Faye Jackson, too, is a master of her craft behind the camera. Her unique vision is on full display, with several spectacular shots serving as a reminder that film can be the most beautiful form of art. Jackson manages to highlight the strangeness of The Old Woman Who Hid Her Fear Under the Stairs without sacrificing sympathy for her lead character or the horror that she eventually faces in her home. Ultimately, Jackson has crafted a short film that explores the torment of living in constant fear, while also making a case for how that fear can, at times, be essential to our preparations for survival. Maybe there’s a middle ground where we can all be calm, but still be ready in moments of danger. I’d like to think so.
The Old Woman Who Hid Her Fear Under the Stairs is one of the best short films I’ve ever seen, and a highlight of Fantasia Fest 2018. Faye Jackson, you have my attention.
