SWALLOW is a single-channel experimental short film created as an exploration of the cinematic psychological thriller and horror genre to engage with the discomfort of the self, exposing the deafening fear of being alone. The film blends the horror of nightmares and reality with the exhaustive relationship between a fear of the dark and the vulnerabilities that unveil as you let your mind walk through the night.
The film engages with personal experiences of sleep paralysis and the way it preys on and torments the vulnerabilities of being alone and the feeling of being a stranger to yourself when stuck and surrounded by your fear. The audio-visual piece slowly unravels and begins to fall apart as the characters become swallowed by their fear. The haunting and nightmarish atmosphere bleeds into the idea of an unknown space where one feels they are being followed by a creature that lurks and watches that inner turmoil, gradually becoming more and more intertwined and unrelenting as the story progresses. The work allows for overlapping themes of melancholia, discomfort, vulnerability and connection to evolve.
