Daisy's Amygdala

Set in Edinburgh 1926, Daisy’s Amygdala explores the dark secrets lurking beneath our feet. Features grizzly elements such as torture, forced medical procedures, and classism, director Zakaria Elbahi delivers a horror focused short that unfortunately misses the mark in a few key ways. While the costuming, editing, and photography are standout elements, poor audio quality and a messy narrative make the film challenging to follow, and may result in a disorienting experience for viewers.

Daisy’s Amygdala opens with a man in his basement, toying with a man named Thomas who is strapped to a table. Thomas screams out in horror for Daisy, who stands outside the door with a fearful expression on her face. The man in the room below is her father, a man who exists in the space between being a torturer and a surgeon. He’s shot half in shadow, half under nauseating yellow light, laughing and taunting Thomas as he picks up various medical instruments. It’s an effective introduction to his character, a disturbing patriarch who revels in the fear he inflicts. The film flashes back to Thomas on a battlefield, unable to save one of his company, and then the film flashes back 8 years ago again to Daisy and her father. She is learning how to drain brain fluid and extract the amygdala from an unwilling patient, before the film jumps back to the present. The doctor spurns his daughter, refusing to show her his new ideas since it’s “a man’s job”. Daisy looks into Thomas’ eyes, and the film cuts to black.

Scenes in Daisy’s Amygdala don’t last long, and time loses meaning. It’s hard to get a sense of the timeline, how each character is related to each other, and who everyone really is. The tone of the short is consistently dark, and audiences may enjoy the darkness that Elbahi explores, but it’s difficult to understand what the larger point of the film is. Classism, racism, and sexism are all gestured towards, but not really developed beyond the idea of powerful white patriarchs and the ways in which they exploit those that society deems beneath them. There’s certainly an element of fear in the film, which audiences may expect more of considering the name of the film; the amygdala is the part of the brain that processes fear after all, but Daisy’s fear is not exactly explored. Additionally, the film is marred by poor audio quality in two major sections, which render the dialogue difficult to understand. Compounding this is a sound mix where the dialogue is generally too low, so audiences may feel the need to use captions. It’s a shame that the film isn’t as thrilling or scary as it could be, considering how upsetting torture and medical malpractice can be (see Pan’s Labyrinth for an effective use of this idea). The performers are certainly doing their best, but without a clear idea of who anyone is, or why they’re in the situations they are in, it’s hard to understand why the scenes should be frightening.

Daisy’s Amygdala unfortunately fails to deliver what its first minute delivers, which is a shame considering how good the filmmaking and set design is throughout. The film fails most in the post production, where the editing is incoherent, and the sound mixing is messy. Particular credit should be given to the cast, but unfortunately the credits do not make it clear who plays who, so I am unable to specify which were my favourite performances. Still, the film is short enough to be a smooth watch, and audiences may find the unique setting worth the price of admission.