Rob Munday
As a parent you’ll do anything for your children and cinema has a history of tapping into this unwavering bond with unsettling effect. From Norma Bates in Psycho to Margaret White in Carrie (don’t even get me started on those neglectful McCallister sh*ts from Home Alone!) unhealthy parent/child relationships form the core of some truly memorable cinematic storylines. For the mother in Jean-Paul DiSciscio’s retro-inspired blood-soaked 16-min horror Poor Glenna, she just wants to make her son happy, even if he has transformed into a tentacled mutant with a relentless thirst for human flesh.
Described by writer/director DiSciscio as “an allegory about parents who enable their adult children’s unhealthy lifestyles”, on initial viewing Poor Glenna plays like an over-the-top gross fantasy, but ultimately the filmmaker is aiming for more than just shocks with his short. Tackling themes of parental devotion and parasitic adult children, he explains that this is his “most personal film to date”, before adding that “the characters are directly inspired by my own family members”. This specific connection to the subject matter certainly feels apparent in the character of Glenna, who despite doing some truly terrible things, you still manage to empathise with. Credit for that has to go to DiSciscio’s writing and filmmaking approach.
Ann Marie Shea as the titular mother in Poor Glenna
Visually, Poor Glenna proudly sports its influences for all to see – the scene where the mother and her oblivious neighbour sit and watch Abel Ferrara’s 1979 cult-classic The Driller Killer the biggest indicator. It’s the exploitation films of this era – ’70s to ’80s – that can be felt flowing through the veins of DiSciscio’s short, with the visual flair of Giallo filmmaking, the flesh eating of the Cannibal sub-genre and the graphic gore of a Splatter movie. With its nostalgic inspiration the FX work on Poor Glenna just had to be practical and DiSciscio’s and his team get it just right with the use of reverse photography and frame-rate manipulation.
Despite its evident influences, Poor Glenna is more than just a fun homage and an easily forgettable tribute. A distinct short that feels unlike anything else we’ve seen in the horror arena recently, sure it’s fun and completely OTT, but it’s also very well-made with a serious message that it’s looking to share. It’s fair to say that DiSciscio’s film certainly won’t be for everyone tastes, but with Halloween just around the corner it feels refreshing to be able to feature such an unapologetic horror on the site. Lets not wait until spooky season to do it again.