Kevin Van Stevenson’s Lady in the Urn combines some familiar ground with what you might call a new wrapper. Do possession horror films exist? Millions. Do murder mysteries exist? Billions. But how many of them revolve around an urn containing the lead actress’ mother’s ashes? I think this might be the only one. I give the film extra points for originality placed on top of some already-familiar territory. Similar to The Conjuring or The Amityville Horror, if they were made by scrappy indie filmmakers with minimal cash.
Sharon (Hanna Mandel) and her husband Niv (Andrew Chen) arrive home exhausted from a trip to attend to Sharon’s mother Sylvia’s funeral, bringing her urn inside with them. Shortly after they return, they receive a surprise visit from their neighbor Thomas (Chris Spinelli). Thomas alerts them that he heard strange noises coming from their apartment while they were gone, and even saw someone sitting in a rocking chair through their front window. Sharon and Niv first treat Thomas as if he’s crazy, rather than asking if he called the police. They did change their tune a minute later and ask why he didn’t call them to let them know. I still wonder why their first instinct was to act like he’s crazy, rather than to wonder if someone had broken into their home, and whether they’re still there, hiding in wait. If my neighbor told me this, I’d immediately exit the front door and call the police to have them sweep the apartment and collect evidence of the break-in. Sharon and Niv do none of this.
After Thomas leaves, Sharon discovers a set of keys on the floor with the name “Mrs. Harris” written on one of them. As it turns out, Mrs. Harris is their landlord. They surmise that this means that she may have been the one that Thomas saw in their rocking chair. But rather than ask their landlord why she was in their apartment, they made another strange decision to wait and see if she asks for them back.
“… Sharon and her husband return home from her mother’s funeral with the urn …”
It turns out that these are indeed Mrs. Harris’ keys, but my question is… Why would Mrs. Harris write “Mrs. Harris” on one of her keys? Wouldn’t it be more likely to say “front door” or something like that? Her name written on it makes it seem like they belong to someone else, and that’s just the key to that particular person’s apartment, which they’ve written the name on so they don’t forget whose apartment it belongs to. I’ve never written “Mr. CG” on one of my own keys.
Beginning that night, Sharon and Niv start hearing strange noises, even in the very bedroom that they’re attempting to sleep in. Sharon starts to wonder if her mother is haunting them, due to her urn being in their apartment. It doesn’t dawn on them that this could be connected to the strange sounds that their neighbor heard while they were gone, or the person he saw sitting in their chair.
Lady in the Urn is clearly a micro-budget production, which is expected for most indies. It takes place almost entirely in a single apartment, doesn’t have the greatest audio recording or mixing, has a dark, overly saturated color grade, and has a mix of what seem like more experienced actors blended with a few novices who are new to the game, all of which point to indie filmmakers doing the very best with what they have. And that’s exactly how you develop your skills. I look forward to seeing more from them as they further develop their craft in the future.
"…indie filmmakers doing the very best with what they have"
