I caught two screenings at the 2025 Phoenix Film Festival on Friday, April 5.

First up was Séance (2024), a feature that was written, directed by, and stars actress Vivian Kerr. This film is a valiant attempt to recreate the style of 1960s Gothic cinema. A Victorian period piece, the movie tells the story of Emma Strand, a divorced woman on holiday with her second husband, Albert. The two have an encounter with her first husband, George Ford, who invites them for dinner with his second wife, Lilian. George and Lilian had a daughter Hazel that recently passed away. During the course of the evening a seance is held to summon Hazel, and supernatural events transpire from there.

In the Q&A afterward, Director Vivian Kerr was asked her number one lesson making this film to which she replied “Don’t try making a period piece movie for under a million dollars.” Sadly, I have to agree with her. While you can see the earnestness and effort that went into this, it simply doesn’t have the budget to pull off what it’s trying to do. The cheap look of the cinematography, costumes, and editing detract from the atmosphere it wants to build. The pacing manages to drag, the jump scares are ineffective, and the final scene works against it.

While I have to admire the effort that went into it I unfortunately can’t rate the film above 2 out of 5 stars.

Next was Sister Midnight (2025) a truly bizarre dark comedy from India. The film tells the story of Uma, a woman recently married to her childhood sweetheart Gopal. The marriage remains unconsummated as Uma chafes at the small dingy apartment in the crowded, smelly city he’s moved her into. For about the first 45 minutes the film appears to be a sardonic commentary on the status of women in this male-dominated society. Then, inexplicably, Uma starts attacking random animals, tearing their throats open with her teeth and keeping their corpses in a box under her bed. Then, after some time passes, the animal corpses start moving around in a choppy, animated fashion. By the time the movie was over, I truly can’t tell you what it was about.

The closest I can compare this film to would probably be something by David Lynch. It definitely appeals to a wavelength more than it does to a narrative. Either you’re on that wavelength or you’re not. As for me, I’m not. I appreciated certain moments of humor and moments of character building but on the whole it wasn’t my thing.

I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.