Zebra Girl

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source: Zebra Girl

This effectively disturbing horror film is not for the faint of heart (there's a scene involving flesh and a saw that's among the most unsetting things I've seen in recent memory). But if you're up for it, the film offers a very interesting exploration of trauma. Like all the best genre films, "Zebra Girl" is both specific an universal. The basic set up (the aftermath of a murder) is a gateway to an exploration of childhood abuse and how the protagonist processes it. The film is definitely scary, but it's most significant achievement might be that it understands how trauma makes you see enemies everywhere (even behind the eyes of people who care about you). Again, unsettling stuff. But if you're a fan of the genre and enjoy a good provocation, prepare for a potent viewing experience.

An engrossing thriller, it held my attention and I really enjoyed it. The gore was a bit much but once you get past that, learning the backstory and everything that led up to the event is incredibly interesting, albeit sad. This is also a visually brilliant movie. A well made thriller.

4/10. The description of the film has nothing to do with the plot itself, which is very boring, undeveloped and shallow. Everything could have been predicted immediately, and the acting was not the best either.

I admit that I watched this film twice in order to see Cullen's most recent character portrayal. His acting did not disappoint. The other actors did well with the twists and turns of their characters. Main character Katherine kept asking character Dan if he was good and he responded that he was. I do not understand why this dialogue was repeated because the storyline was so convoluted that I could not connect with it.

Overall it's a pretty good film. The acting is superb. I feel like the writers did a good job of giving the audience little bits of back story to fill in motivation gaps as the story progresses. It didn't feel like there was any overarching message, hidden agenda, or bad plot being forced on the audience. It's simply just a mentally ill woman with attachment issues who kills people. The cinematography is very well done. This movie does contain a few negatives however. Some of the imagery that plays during the flashback scenes feels forced, out of place, and does not move the plot. For instance the spiders don't ever mean anything in the story. I get the writers were trying to convey a sense of unease, but the spider became the focal point of the scenes so much so that the viewer begins to feel like the spiders have meaning. And I felt like the character of Zebra Girl in Catherine's books wasn't explored enough. In the end it felt as if Zebra Girl was just a footnote to the story. I understand that Catherine is supposed to be Zebra Girl, but it didn't feel like that. It was as if she made Zebra Girl, then forgot about the character, and then at the end becomes Zebra Girl. Overall, I would recommend this film to anyone who's interested in mild thrillers, that are mostly cerebral, but done in a tasteful manner.

Despite Zebra Girl not having the budget that other films might have to make similar stories, i truly believe that this movie punched well above its weight. I thought it challenged the stereotypical approach to dealing with mental health issues that one might see in other films and I found this both refreshing and intriguing. This is a definite must see in my opinion.

Zebra Girl is a low budget psychological horror with black humour that is based on a stage play. Catherine is suspicious of her husband Dan. She kills him and then calls her old friend and presume former lesbian lover Anita. Catherine and Anita dispose of Dan's body. However the conversations between both women reveal a darker and more traumatic past that affects both women. Flashbacks tell how Catherine met Dan. She seemed to beautiful but naive. It was her first ever date and she seemed just a little off kilter. Further flashbacks tells the audience that as a girl, Catherine killed her father who might have been abusive. She has been institutionalised. The audience might be led to think that Dan has also been abusive towards Catherine after they were married. He might be cheating on her. She is on medication. This is a very low budget British film. It is a curiosity but the drama is not sustained. It never gathers momentum and the ending is fumbled. By the end it is evident that Catherine is unhinged, she has not been taking her medication. Maybe those memories of her might be false. She is an unreliable narrator. Dan it seems just simply loved his wife.

This was not at all the film I thought I was signing up for. Fortunately I really liked the film it turned out to be. Judging by the synopsis here and the trailer it looked like: "I have just discovered something horrible about my husband so I snap and kill him" That's not what this film is at all. It is more: "I have a complex history and a complex relationship which leads to murder" Calling this film a comedy is also WAY off the mark. The very small, very brief bits of jet black comedy are completely drowned out by the uncomfortable darkness. Ultimately this film is a tragedy and you have to accept that going in. This reminded me strongly of Marjane Satrapi's 'The Voices' with a hint of Cory Finley's 'Thoroughbreds' (Both excellent films BTW). From the very opening shot the mental state of the protagonist is in question and the way the film plays out from that point doesn't have too many surprises, but it's superb nonetheless. Sarah Roy in particular puts in sterling work. Accept this as an uncomfortable tragedy rather than a black comedy and I think it's well worth watching.