Black Eyed Susan (2024) [Fantasia Film Festival 2024] 

A man takes a job to help develop a sex doll that is meant for both pleasure and pain, a doll meant to help its future owner with issues they might have. This doll is so incredibly realistic that she leads him to question life and humanity. 

Written and directed by Scooter McCrae, Black Eyed Susan is an uncomfortable film, and it is meant to be that way. Many of the themes approached here are not easy and director McCrae approaches them just right. This is not a film meant to be happy or easy to watch, it’s a challenging one not in how it develops but in what is discussed and how to puts these things right in front the camera. This is a mature audience film that even some mature audience members will not get into, and it feels like this is very much on purpose. The writing here is solid and the direction matches it. McCrae is a filmmaker who doesn’t shy away from the odd, the unusual, and the uncomfortable, showing here that he can sustain this in a feature film while having a message for the audience which he does not spoon-feed. This is the kind of film that is a needful watch. 

The cast here is limited and doing great work. In the role of the doll is Yvonne Emilie Thälker is fantastic, giving an unsettling performance through their use to stoicism and delivery of lines that are just that much robotic, giving the character that “not quite human” feel throughout the film. Their performance sells the robot and how it evolves throughout the film, slowly adding some interpretation of emotions. Joining them is Damian Maffei who plays Derek, the new test subject for the doll with a great humanity. His performance is the perfect counterbalance to Thälker’s. The other cast members here get limited screen time but make an impact on the story.  

Almost another character here is the music by Fabio Frizzi which is stunningly gorgeous, a feast for the ears, something Frizzi is the master at. The score here is on point and adds the right level of emotion and really gives a solid assist to the cast and the story. There’s a reason the man is considered a master and this score proves it. 

Black Eyed Susan is a carefully crafted film at all levels, gathering the very best of the industry in each specific department. It’s film that isn’t afraid to create discomfort to pass a message while not spelling out right away. This film assumed its audience is intelligent and lets them make up their own minds while giving them some details of a story that seems much more complex. The writing, direction, acting, and music are fantastic, giving the story what it needs to be a powerful one. 

This year the Fantasia International Film Festival runs in Montreal from July 18th to August 4th.