Weird, bleak and full of mental ruins. If you’re looking for horror with gore or jump scares, this isn’t it. Definitely psychological, surreal and decadent. This is a very dark perspective from a haunted mind.
The creep-factor lies in the puppet which was produced by Odd Studio for the film. They did a great job on creating the central dread of this film.
There is also the creepy story/poem that resonates throughout the film, an originally weird one that I went back and watched to gather the full version, because it was, like I said, atmospherically deviant and foreboding. So well done by the writer or director of this film!
Here’s the poem as best as I have pieced it together from the movie and a few other sources:
Mother, Father, what's afoot? Only Possum, black as soot. Mother, Father, where to tread? Far from Possum, and his head. Here's a bag, now what's inside? Does he seek or does he hide? Can you spy him, deep within? Little Possum, black as sin. Bag is open, growing wider. What's inside it, man or spider? Little boy, don't lose your way. Possum wants to come and play. Look at Possum, there he lies. Children meet his lifeless eyes. See his nasty legs and tongue. When he wakens, watch him run. Wait a while, my little child, For what is playing dead. Possum, with his black balloons, Will eat you up in bed. Happy valley, painted black, All the children in a sack. Wave goodbye to sun and moon. Say hello to black balloon. The parcel opened, out it sprang, The black, long-legged Possum Man. Children, run! He'll eat and smother, Any child without a mother.
A couple cool things about this poem is the cohesive rhyme scheme and the uniform syllables in the lines. It ranges from 6-8 syllables per line, mostly 7, and when there are more frightening action it grows to 8. In some stills I see the puppet with 8 legs, similar to a spider’s, but in some cover images it appears as it has less legs. Not sure how much of this was created on purpose, but, from a literary perspective, it was cool nonetheless—and a nice added touch to darken the film even more.
Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)
