The Horror Show
Chrysalis
by John Klein
If a film claims to be post-apocalyptic horror, chances are, I’m watching it. I took a chance with Chrysalis after watching the trailer on YouTube.
For a low budget, indie film, I was impressed with the cinematography. Chrysalis is beautiful. The landscapes are bleak and truly dystopian. The film is set 25 years after a virus has decimated the world’s population. Josh and Penelope, our main characters, were obviously children at the time of the outbreak, and have been traveling companions since nearly the start of things. We soon learn that they are lovers and that Penelope suffers from repetitive miscarriages.
As Josh and Pen make their way through the ravaged landscape, they must outrun dangerous infected that want nothing more than to kill and eat them, and wild dogs that hunt them. Josh and Pen stumble across two other survivors, one of whom is infected. After sending off the infected man at his request, the other survivor, Abira, is welcomed into Josh and Pen’s hiding spot for the night. Abira informs our main characters that she’s headed to meet a group of other survivors in the city who plan on banding together and rebuilding. Josh and Pen agree to help protect her if she leads them to sanctuary.
While I truly enjoyed this film, a part of me absolutely hated it. (I’ll get to that later.)
For half of the film, the viewer is exposed to what happens when children are forced to grow up in a world that has crumbled. Pen, for example, is extremely childlike. The sexual relationship between her and Josh seems almost borderline inappropriate; even though they seem to be the same age, they have almost a creepy older brother/younger sister relationship. He spends time teaching her to read children’s books and coddles her like a baby. I feel like this is so subtle, it could be overlooked by the viewer.
However childlike Pen is though, she is a hardened survivor who is capable of holding her own, and I was very happy to see this. I was also extremely happy to see that the director and writers did not spend time focusing on a conflict between the women with the addition of Abira to the group. You know, third wheel and all? When Abira showed up, I assumed that a bizarre love triangle would ensue, ruining the storyline. But instead, when Abira questions Josh on Pen, he assures her that he would never abandon her, and that he loves her more than anything.
Chrysalis also plays up the infected very well. While the film does not focus solely on these crazy creatures running around, when they do show up, they look good. I also like how they hint to the fact that infected will also feed on other infected if they are killed. It was a fresh idea. We are also exposed to Abira telling the haunting story of what actually happened when “the world ended”.
But, with all that Chrysalis has to offer, the story takes an unexpected plunge into “Oh COME ON” territory once they reach the rendezvous point with Abira’s people in the city. These people, who have been able to survive for the past 25 years suddenly lose all intelligence and their survival skills fly out the window. They begin to make terrible decisions that made me facepalm more than a few times.
So while I did enjoy the first 70% of the movie, I almost turned it off. If it wasn’t for my inability to start a movie without finishing it, I really would not have watched this movie straight through to the end. I will applaud the actors though, especially Tanya Thai McBride, who played Abira. Josh and Pen, played by Sara Gorsky and Cole Simon, also did very well in their parts.
I can’t not recommend Chrysalis, because it has, for the most part, a lot to offer for an indie post-apoc film. But if when you do watch it and you feel the same way about the last thirty minutes, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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