Draft:Pareidolia (2023 film)

Pareidolia is a 2023 British short horror film directed by Aaron Truss, written by Aiden Truss, and produced by Stuart Morriss. The film stars Diane Franklin, Graham Cole, Carolyn Pickles, and Joe Acres. The film is based on a short story written by Aiden Truss and explores the phenomenon of pareidolia, as well as referencing the works of cultural theorist Jean Baudrillard.

Plot
Local priest Fr. John Cavanagh (Graham Cole) and mortician Jonty Kauffman (Joe Acres) inspect a mysterious body in a morgue. Meanwhile, university lecturers Sinead Chambers (Diane Franklin) and Jean Clarke (Carolyn Pickles) discuss the phenomenon of pareidolia. Sinead feels watched after discovering eerie abnormalities in photos.

After noticing something unnatural about the body, Fr. Cavanagh rushes to the crime scene at Scrimm cottage. Later at home, a terrified Sinead recalls Jean's advice about using a torch to help her face her fears, as she is being stalked by a menacing entity. Finally, at the crime scene, Fr. Cavanagh and D.I. Sutton (Stuart Morriss) find Sinead's belongings and confront a monstrous presence. In the morgue, Jonty notices abnormalities in the X-ray of the body. As the lights flicker, he hears Sinead's voice. The body in the morgue is revealed to be Sinead, with her eyes and mouth missing.

Cast

 * Diane Franklin as Sinead Chambers
 * Graham Cole as Fr. John Cavanagh
 * Carolyn Pickles as Jean Clarke
 * Joe Acres as Jonty Kauffman
 * Dawn Perllman as Dr. Fielding
 * Sandy Johnson as DJ Micki Myers
 * Stuart Morriss as D.I. Sutton
 * Charlotte Grice as WPC Hodge
 * Katharina Janet Wieczorek as The Entity
 * Aaron Truss as The Voice of the Entity

Production
Diane Franklin had stated that she had always wanted to work with Misty Moon producer Stuart Morriss on a film, provided it was the right script. Morriss had also approached director Aaron Truss to direct the project, based on his previously directed short film The Understudy. At the time, one of Truss’ projects, a documentary about Operation Husky had fallen through, so Aaron decided to accept the offer, citing that he wanted his father, Aiden Truss, to create a story and write the screenplay. The script for Pareidolia was inspired by a short story that Aiden had written, inspired by sections from the Fortean Times Magazine about Simulacra. According to Aiden, Jake West made helpful suggestions regarding the characters. A script was sent to Franklin who was intrigued by the concept Aiden Truss had created involving the phenomenon of pareidolia. Both Aaron and Aiden Truss had expressed an interest in casting Frazer Hines for the film, but ultimately he was unavailable. Morriss suggested that the role intended for Hines should instead go to Carolyn Pickles.



Primary locations for the film mainly took place on location in Robertsbridge, East Sussex. The production experienced issues due to train strikes, severe weather and flooding which were captured on camera and used in the film. Lighting on production was inspired by John Carpenter’s Halloween, whilst the production team also opted for a Lynchian style of editing with Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet being a heavy influence. During scenes filmed in Robertsbridge, Graham Cole would sing to the residents in between takes to keep everyone entertained as it was cold and a late shoot. The production team consisted of James Dean (DOP), Camille Cremades (First AD), Felix Waverly-Hudson (sound recordist), and Alexander Pearce (production assistant). VFX for the film took months to complete, with Dan Grant starting before filming had begun. The artwork would be helmed by Ignacio Mazuecos and would continue over the course of the film’s social media campaign. Infra Violet wrote and performed the soundtrack for the film, having worked on Aaron Truss’ previous film, The Understudy. Mario Vidali and Dan Yates would take charge of dubbing mixing and sound design.

A feature film script is currently being developed by Aaron Truss, Aiden Truss, and Jake West.

Release
The film premiered at London’s FrightFest on August 28, 2023. The film then proceeded to have a special screening at the Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester on October 20, 2023, followed by a North American premiere at the Los Angeles International Film Festival, then a screening at the Ealing Film Festival on 24th November and at London’s DarkFest on November 25th. In 2024, the film screened at Horror-On-Sea on January 14, followed by the Soho London Independent Film Festival 2024 where the film was awarded ‘Best Horror Film’ by director Neil Marshall. Marshall noted, “We the judges felt that this film was fresh, it was original, it was dynamic.” Pareidolia would then screen at the Romford Horror Film Festival on 2nd March 2024, with Diane Franklin nominated for ‘Best Actress’ and Graham Cole nominated for ‘Best Actor’.

Reception
Phil Wheat for Nerdly awarded it a score of five out of five, saying, “A remarkable short film that I would love to see expanded to a feature, Pareidolia is a must-see for genre fans!” Writing for Starburst Magazine, Martin Unsworth awarded the film four out of five, echoing the same sentiment “Pareidolia is an effectively creepy short that deserves to be expanded to feature length.” Ben Errington at the Horror Hangout Podcast voted Pareidolia as the Best short film of London’s FrightFest 2023, as well as best scary moment. Jennie Kermode of Eye For Film also awarded the film four out of five stars, commenting that “It’s the simplicity and deliberateness of the haunting scenes which makes them so effective, creating a sense of slow, patient predation.” Melissa Cox for Moving Pictures Film Club awarded the film four out of five stars, stating that “With Aaron Truss’s confident direction, excellent performances by an accomplished cast and an imaginatively creepy hook, the result is engaging and chilling in equal measure.”

Joseph Perry at Horror Fuel, echoes this statement, claiming “Aaron Truss, working from a screenplay by Aiden Truss, invests Pareidolia with an eldritch atmosphere, a fast-paced approach, and a gripping dash of mystery.” Aubry Norman writing for Grimoire of Horror praises the creative team, stating, “The cinematography demonstrates creativity and expert-level skills, experimenting with unusual camera angles and effects that serve to compound the mounting horror. There were so many scenes where I was blown away by the use of lighting, framing, or even the visual effects - both practical and digital.” Paul Downey at Bloody Flicks praised the films simplistic approach, saying, “Pareidolia feels like stripped-back horror, which carries a real chilling atmosphere throughout. Unlike some horrors today that rely on neon lights, this short uses shadow and frames to craft its scares.” John Higgins at Film and TV Now also remarked on the casting, citing, “The short has a lot of appeal, thanks in no small part to (Diane) Franklin, who is already well-loved by fans of Amityville II and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”