Amy Geist’s horror short Dysmorphia looks into the tragic results of a mother’s words taking over their child’s entire mindset. With a strong script and an especially shuddering performance from Brit MacRae, her film really hits you harder than you would expect.
After Isabella (Brit MacRae), a destitute beauty addict, fakes cancer to pay for her next cosmetic surgery, she is haunted by a shadow figure demanding a penance of flesh.
The success of Dysmorphia hinges on that conversation between Isabella and her mother; we need to see why this young beautiful woman wants to go to such lengths to “perfect” herself. For a good portion of the film, we can clearly see that body dysmorphia has taken hold of Isabella. Little things like drawing the marks she feels are imperfect already before her surgery and listing off the huge amount of work she wants to be done. It mounts up, but we struggle to sympathise with her because of her route to obtaining that money.
It is not until that conversation were we pity her; she has been told seemingly again and again that she has to remain perfect, to remain beautiful and for any young person, that will take its toll, and soon, instead of having another voice push away those thoughts, she can and will only listen to what she thinks is right.
One thing that Dysmorphia does not overly need is that figure haunting Isabella. You understand its inclusion, and it is done well, but in this instance, having everything happening to Isabella from her own mind works so much better for what Geist is getting across. Plenty of moments throughout the film work so effectively when it comes to horror that adding the figure feels unnecessary. Of course, you understand why, but with the slightest of tweaking story-wise, you could pull off the same film without it, especially as we can see that what Isabella is experiencing is trauma from her mother.
Brit MacRae is the key to the film. Though, at times, a one-woman show, she carries the film through those more disturbing moments. Her character has so many negative thoughts running around in her head that she loses control. MacRae really sells the panic going on in Isabella’s mind, and it is not until that video that she shifts again. A really strong performance from the actor.
At times scary and creepy but always fascinating; Dysmorphia shows us the cruel nature of the condition. How it envelopes your every thought, how obsessed and desperate you become to make your body the way you think it needs to be, even when, to everyone else, you are already more than enough. That viscerally devastating final scene makes your skin itch while also screaming no at the screen. Amy Geist’s film could easily have taken the standard horror route, but she ensured that there is a bit of power and reflection in Dysmorphia to affect you far more than you want it to.
★★★★
The 19th HollyShorts Film Festival is running between 10th – 20th August with in person and digital screenings available through the 10th to 27th August.
For more information go to www.hollyshorts.com
Coverage of HollyShorts Film Festival 2023:
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