The trailer for His Monster uses horror as a metaphor for grief and addiction — but it also delivers on the titular creature.
The monster in question is the Shōjō from Japanese folklore. Often depicted as a primate figure with long, flowing red hair, the mythological beings were known to live on the sea shores, making their own brine wine and antagonizing the landing sailors.
Blending psychological horror, creature feature, and emotional realism, the character-driven film stars Gabriel Casdorph (The Wolf of Snow Hollow) as a struggling alcoholic who lost his family because of it.
When his young daughter is mysteriously swept out to sea, he believes it to be a monster that attacked her. James remains alone, searching the woods, finding nothing but the bottom of an empty bottle again and again. Then people around him start dying, and only he believes what it is that’s killing them.
The Oregon-lensed indie is written and directed by Erich Cannon. Compassionate Disaster Films produces.
Meranda Long, Ashley Song, Brace Evans, Miette Blanche, and Justin Harris round out the cast.
“His Monster explores the idea that the true horror is the grips of addiction and grief,” Cannon explains. “It’s my hope to shine a light on the discussion of addiction and abuse in a true-to-life story that plays with magical realism.”
Cannon continues, “I drew a lot of inspiration from my long time love of practical effects, the work of Guillermo del Toro and Jim Henson’s projects like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth and my longtime love of ‘The X-Files‘ TV series and the monsters-of-the-week episodes.”
EuroObscura will introduce His Monster to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin next month.
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