Black Women In Horror: Waiting For You (2016) Movie Review

Is someone waiting for you?

Written & Directed by Zena Sade Dixon (@LovelyZena)

When I first began working with film festivals, I discovered the practice of the "micro short" film that tended to range from thirty seconds to two minutes. As simply a lover and overthinker of the craft, I never imagined it possible. How do you tell or evoke emotion in that short a time? Beginning, middle, and end. I was naive. And I got wise quick. Currently some odd years later, I fully embrace this strategy as a consumer and remain extremely impressed by those who can pull it off successfully.

Filmmaker Zena Sade Dixon's latest, Waiting For You answers my once ignorant question with a slight jolt I haven't gotten from a newer horror film in a few years. Yes, there have been memorable, nightmarish unnerving images I'll never forget and obvious jump scare attempts that have fallen flat. But a genuine jerk from a split second rush of fear is difficult to arouse for the horror inclined.

Waiting For You does this for me, coming in just under two minutes. And as a micro, it's best left to invoke interest by explaining what it viscerally accomplishes from a purely subjective lens. Dixon also stars as the lone character whose fear is infectious. As the tension builds around her of what's real and what isn't, there's this underlying need to ponder if there's something more that's troubling this character. It's all left up to us to paint the picture of who she is, yet it's a pretty fun activity that simultaneously can even lead to understanding what troubles us and how our minds absorb this neurosis.

I've always been a fan of Dixon of a rising filmmaker who demonstrates a masterful use of camera work and sound that successfully keeps me on my toes as a viewer.


Check out Zena a.k.a. Real Queen Of Horror on Twitter | Youtube | Tumblr | Instagram http://www.realqueenofhorror.com/


Image: Ghost Holding Mirror Shard By Clique Images