One of the films that premiered at the Nashville Film Festival was a feature length horror titled Faye from two Nashville-based filmmakers, KD Amond and Sarah Zanotti.
We follow our main character, Faye L. Ryan, to a secluded cabin where she will hopefully knock out her next bestselling book. However, we discover that Faye, newly widowed, quickly starts to unravel within the lonely cabin and has to begin to face her own demons. Grief, trauma, loneliness, mental illness, guilt, and vulnerability are just a few things that Zanotti and Amond touch on during this hour and twenty minutes that actually flies by rather quickly.
Let’s just talk about grief for a moment. Grief will have us saying and thinking the most senseless things: what if I wore a blue shirt instead of a red shirt that day? or what if I went left instead of right? Those intrusive thoughts will drive us mad if we let them, and at several points of the film, Faye does just that. She quite literally haunts the cabin with her own responses to these very real life horrors and psychological experiences.
The film reminds us that we take our trauma with us no matter how secluded a cabin may be, and if we don’t take accountability we can be faced with our very own “shadow” version of ourselves. Faye admits that this version of herself scares her, and as the audience, we are wondering if she will succumb to it or not.
Shot during the 2020 pandemic, and entirely on an iPhone 4, Amond and Zanotti reeled me in with almost every scene. The story kept me guessing, and I was genuinely creeped out during the parts I was supposed to be creeped out by. I’m not sure what else you could want from a horror movie. No fat budgets or flashy monsters in Faye, just a handful of filmmakers and great storytelling. On top of that, it features one woman and one woman only, the first film of its kind in America.
Zanotti is captivating as Faye, and is one of the main components as to why this film is so enjoyable. Her range throughout the film is diverse yet steady. We laughed with Faye, we cried with Faye, we were frightened of Faye, and we sympathized with Faye.
The stripped-down presentation of the film, and the nature of the overall themes made Faye one of the most unique films I’ve experienced.
Follow AZ IF Productions to find out where you can catch Faye and the rest of Amond and Zanotti’s work. Most importantly, leave a comment below if you’s a spooky hoe. (Iykyk).
Brittany Fernandez is a Lifestyle Writer for SoBros Network. She’s a Nashville native covering events on the local scene, B-movie horror reviews, and everything in between. Her go-to karaoke song is “No Diggity.” Follow on Twitter: @brittbutspooky
Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
