Ari Groobman’s Projection is a horror film about what happens when the person you’re running from might also be inside your head. It’s a nightmare that lives in the gap between what’s real and what trauma convinces you is real, and Groobman refuses to let you rest easy about which is which.
Katie (Mikey Gray) and her younger sister Haley (Preslea Elliott) have escaped their mother’s house with their dog, Trudy, and landed in a cramped, rundown apartment. Haley’s miserable and regrets the situation, while Katie’s just trying to keep them safe. That first night, Katie hears her mother’s voice cutting through the window. It’s all in her head. When Katie’s father calls the next day, he tells her their mother loves her, and here’s the thing: Katie left because her mother was going after Haley. Katie doesn’t say much back.
Katie examines the bruises on Haley’s face, then looks at her own scars in the mirror—marks that go deep both physically and emotionally. That night, getting into bed, the memory of the fight with her mother comes crashing back. Katie’s staring up at the sky through her tears when she glances down. The maintenance man (Ian McPherson) is in the yard below, staring straight up at her window. He doesn’t look away.
“She wakes up gasping and slams the window shut, but when she turns around, he’s already inside.”
Katie falls asleep and slides into a nightmare. A man is climbing a ladder toward her window, rung by rung, getting closer. She wakes up gasping and slams the window shut, but when she turns around, he’s already inside. It’s the maintenance man who grabs her and bites down on her neck. But is this real or all in her head?
Projection beautifully blends family dysfunction, giving it a horror twist, and I love the title and how it plays in the overall story. This is a story of abuse, and the devastating mess is impressed upon children like an explosion. Katie not only carries the trauma into adulthood but also plays the role of her sister’s rescuer… which begs the question: are you actually rescuing a sibling or placing them in a more precarious situation?
As a horror director, Ari Groobman shifts Katie between nightmare and reality, blending them seamlessly while leaving a few characters in its wake. Groobman’s opening slowly sets the stage and goes sprinting across the finish in all of its bloody glory. The idea of a trauma-laden horror story is insightfully explored without ever overplaying its hand.
Real terror lives in the in-between of the threats that chase us and the threats we create inside our own minds. In Projection, Groobman executes that vision—knowing exactly when the nightmare should feel more real than waking life.
For screening information, visit the Projection official website.
"…Real terror lives in the in-between of the threats..."
