Writer-director Vivian Kerr crafts her sophomore feature, Séance, in the style of August Strindberg. Using a surrealistic and often expressionist approach, the groundbreaking playwright/novelist wrote stories about people dealing with tragedy and marital issues, both emotional and sexual. For Kerr’s latest, she skillfully surrounds four broken characters (who would be at home in a Strindberg play) in the aura of a Victorian horror film. 

Set in 1892, Séance finds novelist Emma Strand (an excellent Scottie Thompson) on “vacation” in California with her second husband Albert (Connor Paolo). Sitting at the seaside, Albert draws his wife, while Emma tries to entice him into something sexual. His prudish ways prevent any public displays of affection or anything more. The two have a sexless marriage that has caused Emma to correspond with her ex-husband, George (Jilon VanOver). In a not-so-chance encounter, George and his new wife Lillian (played by director Kerr) come strolling up on the beach. 

As George and Lillian invite Emma and Albert to dinner, the invitation is extended to overnight so they can take shelter from an unruly storm. After it is decided the newlyweds will stay, Lillian suggests a séance, in the hope of communicating with her and George’s dead daughter, Hazel. It is during this ritual where Lillian’s mental instability comes into question, as Kerr’s intelligent screenplay traverses ghostly occurrences, the pain of loss, repressed emotions, and sexual need. 

Director Kerr overcomes the film’s smaller budget, giving the work the desired look of a Victorian era ghost-thriller. Cinematographer Johanna Coelho rarely lets the light in. Outside, the skies are overcast and the interiors are lit with darker visual palettes that coexist with the warmth of candlelight. The tone of both the screenplay and the camerawork is devoid of warmth, giving the film a style that captures the disturbing essence of the characters’ intentions. Their monotone conversations that cloak something more emotionally sinister are represented in the artful camera design and well-crafted shot compositions.

In stylistic comparison, Kerr and Coelho’s work finds kinship with a film such as Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, as each shot is meticulously composed, finding symmetry with the dramatic beats of the piece.

Kerr’s script lays down the breadcrumbs for us to follow its unique path, each scene revealing just enough to turn the audience into cinematic detectives trying to unravel its mystery. Is Lilian a madwoman or is the spirit of her dead child inside her? Does Emma love her husband enough not to betray him? Is there something more sinister at work? In its emotions and design, this is a multilayered film that cleverly uses deception to mine deeper truths. By the end, the picture reaches a profound and inescapable conclusion that holds an effective emotional weight.

Existing somewhere between the films of director Joseph Losey and a chamber-horror piece, Séance is an intimate and focused examination of the complexity of human sexuality, marriage, and loss told through a ghostly tale. Through a well-written and intuitive screenplay, Kerr’s film skillfully reveals the shattering emotional core of its characters; finding the sometimes dangerous folly in human attraction.

Eerie, involving, and very well-acted, Vivian Kerr has crafted one of the most interesting films of 2024.

Séance had its world premiere on October 18th at the 2024 Newport Beach Film Fest.

Séance

Written and Directed by Vivian Kerr

Starring Scottie Thompson, Connor Paolo, Jilon VanOver, Vivian Kerr

NR, 85 Minutes, A Season of Rain, Rue Dangeau