This time in quarantine has been a sort of blessing for filmmakers wanting to continue their work while staying safe and socially distant. That’s totally true for We Are The Missing‘s Andrew J. D. Robinson, producing and directing a series of micro-shorts from home. Confessions of a Haunting… is just that.
Julie Mainville stars as a mother, Anna, speaking to the camera as a sort of confessional. Through her tearful monologue, we get a glimpse of her home life as a child, and the disappointments she endured from her presumably absent father. It’s beautifully written, and somehow in only 3 minutes we see a lifetime of hurt and resentment. Though Anna is the only one we see on screen, we hear a child at some point calling out to her. Her child… and then another voice asking her to “break the cycle.” As Anna realizes her hanging onto these negative memories is taking her down the same road as her dad did with her, she picks herself up, puts on a stiff upper lip, and opens her heart to forgiveness, forging a new, happier path in her life.
Confessions of a Haunting… may be a little misleading of a title, as there is just a small (relative to a 3-min runtime) blip of actually-haunting material — the voice beckoning from beyond. I was almost waiting for something to jump out from behind her. But this turned out to be a different kind of scare.
Horror is being afraid of losing something. But true horror is knowing you had lost something.
Anna (Julie Mainville), Confessions of a Haunting…
From the quote above, Anna explains that there is fear in loss. And that could be interpreted many different ways: a family member being absent or leaving, missed opportunities and happy moments, death of a loved one, and loss of a “normal” life due to worry and regret. It’s a slow, somber horror as opposed to an obvious ghost or ghoul. And I think this is the perfect short to sum up the past year we’ve been having in isolation. Confessions of a Haunting… is a quiet horror that gives us room to sit and let our hearts weep for the time we essentially lost. But as Robinson used this time to create and pursue something good, we too can be like Anna and turn over a new leaf, looking ahead at what the future holds for us instead of looking back.
Confessions of a Haunting… is a quick flick that packs a punch if you’re willing to face loss. If not, it’s still a captivating master class on monologue and emotion. Watch it here.
