Welcome to another installment of 31 Days of Halloween! This is our chance to set the mood for the spookiest and scariest month of the year as we focus our attention on horror and Halloween fun. For the month of October we’ll be sharing various pieces of underappreciated scary books, comics, movies, and television to help keep you terrified and entertained all the way up to Halloween.
Horror is best served in bite sized servings. Sinphony: A Clubhouse Horror Anthology brings together a group of international filmmakers to do just that. Consisting of nine segments, the film explores different tragedies and the human condition. The conception of Sinphony is an interesting one. A product of modern society, the movie was conceived and curated entirely on the audio-based social media platform Clubhouse. Does the mix of today’s technology and old school storytelling work?
The wraparound is one of the most important parts of any horror anthology. The irony is even though it ties all the segments together, it is usually the least important part of the film. That is certainly the case in Sinphony where the overarching story is relegated to the back until the very end. It is an interesting decision as this story does not come into clear focus until almost an hour into Sinphony.
This does two things as it first the segues just seem like inconsequential openings to each story. It is odd at first, but some are pretty clever. A great example is ‘Forever Young’ from director and star Haley Bishop (Host). It is funny and sets the tone for the segment. Placing less of a focus on the wraparound in the early parts of Sinphony makes it especially satisfying to see everything come together. This also brings added meaning to each individual story and the film as a whole. It is a nice touch that is not always found in anthologies.
Of course, an anthology is only as good as its individual stories and there are plenty of them here. There is a good mix of stories, though the vast majority of them have dark endings. Aside from ‘Forever Young’ and ‘Do Us Part’ from Kimberly Elizabeth of Nightmare of Film Street, Sinphony lacks the levity these types of film use to allow audiences to catch their breath. Two out of eight sounds like a good ratio, but heavy themes run throughout Sinphony.
This is by no means a knock against the film. After all, it is a horror anthology so scares and unhappy endings should be expected. Sinphony delivers on a number of levels. It is filled with terrifying moments. ‘Mother Love’ is frightening and uses some great camerawork while ‘Ear Worm’ is straight up gross. ‘The Keeper’ is a story about a family with a lot of issues that has an incredibly depressing ending. There are lots of emotional ups and downs, but the constant is fear.
Sinphony: A Clubhouse Horror Anthology comes to theaters and digital/VOD platforms October 21
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