Abi Blackmore really, really, really, realllllly likes horror novelist Sarah Pinborough who, prior to seeing the awkward yet funny short doc “She’s Behind You,” I had never heard of before. Some quick web searching tells me Pinborough is a writer of horror and fantasy books for young adults, which are huge in the UK (where this doc takes place), and have found success here in the States as well. In “She’s Behind You” we meet her biggest, most creepy fan, Blackmore, who wants nothing more than to meet her idol and interview her for her film. A literary convention is coming to town so Blackmore takes this as her cue and begins a documentary wherein she tries to meet and interview her idol Pinborough. It doesn’t go well. But then it does. And then it really goes badly.
Blackmore is borderline obsessed with Pinborough and spends her time drawing pictures of her as well as other things regarding her effigy that you should really watch the film to discover. And while Blackmore is just the kind of super fan you might run into at a sporting event or Hollywood premiere, her willingness to document her wackiness is something I’ve never seen before. She sets off to the convention with some friends who become her “producers” and begins the process of stalki…err…looking for Pinborough in order to film an interview for her documentary and, when she finds her, this awkward little film gets even more strange.
My momma didn’t raise no fool and I’m fairly certain “She’s Behind You” is a cleverly made spoof or, “taking the piss out” as the folks in the film might say. But I was still along for the ride until next to the very last minute of the film where a really ill-advised and frankly dumb title card pops up and kind of ruins the whole affair. Prior to this point I was engaged by Blackmore’s obsessiveness as well as her uncanny ability to make the worst decision possible at any given moment. If you don’t like seeing people make fools of themselves, this is not a film for you but I enjoy that so I was enjoying this walk of shame. But as mentioned, in the last seconds of the film Blackmoore tips her hand and the veil of the fourth wall clumsily drops.
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