For better or worse, family is what keeps us bonded and grounded. Unfortunately, in Brandon Espy’s short film, Kiara, it’s all for the worse.
Von (Von Roburts) left his family, particularly his sister Kiara (Daijah Peters), to make it big in New York. Years later, he returns home to care for his sick sister. At first, Von thinks Kiara’s condition is physical but soon realizes dark forces are at play.
“…Von thinks Kiara’s condition is physical but soon realizes dark forces are at play.”
Kiara is short and sweet, and writer/director Espy masterfully builds the proper tension all the way to the horrific end. He weaves the theme of “never leaving family” into his tale, and though there are minimal props and effects, he turns his “less” into a lot “more.”
Espy understands that short horror films should be directed like a symphony with atmosphere, emotion, sound, and music as his instruments. So he intentionally conducts the tension in Kiara like a song and keeps his audience off-balance until the final crescendo.
For screening information on Kiara, visit Brandon Espy’s official Instagram page.
"…keeps his audience off-balance..."
