Destroyer

A photographer tells her disturbing life story.

Two young women arrive at a photography studio for a photoshoot. One is the photographer (Chan) and the other is the model (Jagsi). While the session goes on, the artist proceeds to tell her customer about her past and the revelations are rather sinister.

This short thriller is quite a dark story that explores very dark subjects. The narrative alternates between the studio, with the photographer telling her story to the model (who becomes more and more upset by what she hears) and sequences from her past, including flashbacks, photographs and family footage of her dog Paul and her cousin Micah (Fernandes). While taking pictures, the photographer explains how she ended up with her current profession, which results in her mentioning unsettling facts about her childhood, beginning with the harsh upbringing she had with her parents who were strictly religious, before moving on to distressing events involving her dog and her cousin.

As sinister as the photographer's story is, there are also images that add to the dark atmosphere such as footage of people wearing white masks, who are inside a church (presumably the troubled heroine's parents) and a montage of historical and real-life photos that have sinister connections, including one of musician and singer John Lennon with the man who would eventually murder him and one of former U.S. President George W. Bush being informed of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The sinister music certainly helps in creating a distressing mood and the filmmakers make effective use of slow motion, out of focus and fast cutting techniques.

The photographer is the main center of the film and Chan convincingly portrays her as a disturbed individual with a troubled childhood.

This psychological thriller places the viewer into the mind of a person who has serious mental issues. It explores very dark issues that include childhood trauma, animal cruelty, online pornography, mental health and revenge. It is an uncomfortable viewing, however it deserves praise for the dark and powerful atmosphere that it creates, which makes it a memorable experience.