Black Eyed Susan is challenging and thought-provoking (Fantasia)
Fantasia Festival - horror
Every now and again, you watch a film that you enjoy and hope never to watch again because of how challenging it is. After more than two decades away from writing and directing a feature-length film, Scooter McCrae is back with his new movie, Black Eyed Susan. Of all of the movies that I have screened at the Fantasia Festival, this was easily the most uncomfortable and upsetting, but it is also the one that has been the most thought-provoking.
Derek (Damian Maffei) is living out of his car when his friend Gilbert (Marc Romeo) offers him a job. Gil has developed an AI sex doll named Susan (Yvonne Emilie Thälker) that is able to bruise, allowing her to be used for abuse as well. Derek and Susan are sent to a cabin in order to find out more about Susan’s capabilities. The pair tests their trust in each other, but as their time together wears on, Derek is confronted with the next evolution of Susan, one that leaves him deeply upset.
It is really easy to become inured to sex and violence, especially the blending of the two in the media that we consume. What Black Eyed Susan does is put that front and center in a way that demands that you observe it and consider what it means to become numb to this kind of media usage while also asking us to look at the way that AI can be used. McCrae uses shocking imagery to invite us to consider some of our most base instincts and ask questions about what boundaries we have and why we set them where we do.
Black Eyed Susan is not a slow-burn film, with a shocking scene right from the beginning. This film doesn’t ease you into what it has to say, it starts with a shout. But even though it begins with a distressing scene, it still manages to build tension throughout. And though you may think that there are no more boundaries to test, the end will still shock you.
Maffei and Thälker both excel in their roles as Derek and Susan. Maffei has to balance being a likable, heroic character while doing some loathsome things, and he manages that beautifully. Thälker also gives an impressive performance as Susan. They are tasked with bouncing between various personalities, as Susan, and they do this seamlessly. The two have a fascinating relationship in the film, and they manage to create a sense of intimacy while never quite falling into something that makes them seem like a couple. Their ability to maintain this distance and closeness at the same time speaks to their talent.
Black Eyed Susan is not a film that is fun to watch, but it’s a movie that will worm its way into your brain. And if you take time to wrestle with its themes and the questions that it raises, it’s a movie that can change how you think about the way that we have normalized violence and how we choose who is worthy of protection.
Check out my interview with writer/director Scooter McCrae and co-stars Yvonne Emilie Thälker and Damian Maffei.