Stephen Portland comes with a feature that isn’t at all specific to the horror movies we’re accustomed to. It’s the calm tone of the story that may drive the viewer crazy, and so the whole nuance of ‘Something‘ can be compared to a picture of a still ocean, where you can see a blue sky, some clouds, and infinite water, but at the same time you know that at any moment, a great giant shark could jump and change the whole atmosphere in the blink of an eye. One of the most terrifying characteristics of this movie is the absence of music, leaving most of the times the ambient sound to take over your emotions. As a viewer, you get it from the first ten minutes that this film won’t end up well, and when realizing this, all the cereals touching the bowl, all the floor noise, the bone cracking – all of them become a boost of dreadfulness.
Also, the constant usage of pale cold colors is a good indicator that family life may be more than meets the eye. When the woman is crying in her bed while holding the baby boy, the whole scene covers the viewer with a wet, fully buttoned robe that feels like it’s stretching the bones inside you, leaving you without an escape plan.
Some time ago, one comedian released this statement that proves to be true in this situation: “I’m so scared in the country-side, ’cause it’s just quiet and it’s just mystery, and trees and darkness. I live in New York City, I feel perfectly safe there. Yes, I’m surrounded by murderers (…) but I feel perfectly safe there.” We’ve chosen this quote to point out the absence of extra characters from the story because it is this absenteeism that makes it a breathtaking horror that can really scar the unprepared.
The whole narrative construction of ‘Something’ is purely amazing. It starts slowly, with two parents and their newborn baby in their house. They feel like someone is watching them. They feel like there is another presence in their house, but for some reason, they can’t explain or do anything about it. That presence becomes more and more intense, and from one point on, that supernatural presence we’re all afraid of takes over the situation. The film has no CGI, no special effects, no zombies, vampires or any other such thing, another reason why ‘Something’ is an intensely powerful horror that can definitely make the audience go crazy. We simply loved Stephen Portland’s debut feature and we definitely recommend it to anyone out there who wants to watch a hair-raising film that cannot be forgotten no matter how hard one might try to!
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