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Directed by Marcos Codas
Written by Marcos Codas, Harumi Martinez
Starring Christian Cuadra, Alexis Amarilla, Leila Benitez, Camila Sigaud
Short Film Review by Rachel Pullen
Breaks ups are tough, we have all been there, the heartache, the guilt, the name calling such as "hick" and then the inevitable curse that one puts on another.
Kurusu Serapio throws us in the deep end of a messy break up between Chris and Camila, when he breaks up with her for being a ‘’hick from Kurusu Serapio’’ which is, let’s be honest, a pretty lame reason to end it with someone.
Camila does not take lightly to being called a hick let alone being dumped and quickly puts a spell on Chris, which within minutes starts to really mess with his mental wellbeing.
But like all good break up stories Chris has a close network of friends to help him through this tough time, and no not by taking him out for a round of beers but by desperately searching for him as the spell takes hold and he disappears and unravels in the darkness that Camila has created for him.
An interesting fact about this film is that all the actors used their real names, which gives a great sense of realism to the work, and whether it was intentional or not, it pulls it away from all the other found footage horror flicks that claim to be genuine...until the credits roll that is.
This short piece crams a lot of energy into only 6 minutes, covering the break up, the spell taking action and the hunt for Chris, but this does not leave the viewers feeling short changed, with interesting camera work, an intense soundtrack and the use of found footage we are immersed in a eerie and unnerving story.
As I said the soundtrack is intense, and plays an important part in creating a sense of fear in this movie, director Marcos Codas uses sounds more than music, which is the obvious choice when working with found footage, but the choice of these sounds is what makes his work stand out for the million other found footage horrors that are available to the viewing public. Be it from low to high pitch drones, insects, or just ambient noises, their accompaniment to the film fill us, the viewer with dread, reminding us of the sound usage in horror games such as Silent Hill, where the idea of less being more was executed successfully.
Kurusu Serapio is clearly made on a low budget, but that is the joy of found footage films; they can be made for little to no money but offer an interesting point of view for the audience, and with the success of genre films such as the Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity Kurusu Serapio could take its interesting and intriguing storyline and easily develop it in to a full length picture. But having a low budget can always come with restrictions and one of those is having less experienced actors, and although their performances are not the worst seen in a budget piece, it is still clearly in need of development.
Despite that this is a creepy little number which will have you nervous with every movement of the camera, and which will also make you think twice before you break up with a girl from Kurusu Serapio.
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