Robert Nolan is perhaps one of my favorite indie film actors already and he’s only been in two films I’ve seen in over the course of three years. Richard Powell and Zach Green formerly cast Mr. Nolan is the dark disturbing short “Worm” about a teacher on the brink of a breakdown and they catch lightning in a bottle yet again with Mr. Nolan as a man on the verge of madness as he soaks in every aspect of his life that is both mundane and maddening. Clearly unfulfilled and trapped, Nolan plays Chris who is a husband and dad seething with anger and hatred so bile that he can barely contain himself from committing horrible crimes against his own family. He can predict every aspect of his life and despises that fact until one night his wife reveals that she is pregnant.
The bile continues to grow and stew within the man as he sinks in to darkness and disturbing corners of insanity. What happens next is not only unexpected but incredible grotesque. Surely “Familar” has a lot to owe to David Cronenberg as the film takes a leap in to the fantastical and uses a gore soaked finale to symbolize the manifestation of pure and utter loathing that’s managed to take on a life of its own. The prosthetics and make up are astounding as the finale watches Chris discovering something about his body that’s boiling under his skin and what becomes a man doling out punishment to his family, soon becomes a man wrestling with his own emotions and turmoil that ends in blood shed, gore, and utterly gruesome special effects that will inspire much conversation among movie watchers and big wide smiles from gore hounds across the board.
The way the finale is filmed by Richard Powell is marvelous as he cuts back and forth between Nolan’s reaction and to the disgusting entity lying dormant in Chris’s body. While it has every chance to be silly and over the top, it’s instead an excellent ode to the masters of horror that shows what can happen when our hatred, disgust, and anger are so powerful, they manage to think independently and form their own being within us. “Familiar” took me places I never expected to go, and for that I applaud it. An utterly unexpected and disturbing short horror film, “Familiar” is yet another short gem from the folks behind Fatal Pictures that manages to enthrall, compel, mesmerize, disgust, and entertain across the board. Robert Nolan is an absolute thrill to watch on-screen and I anxiously await more from him in the future. It’s going to be making the festival rounds very soon, so if you happen across it, sit down and watch it. You won’t regret it.