‘Appendage’ Review: A Millennial Twist on Horror Classics [SXSW 2023]
For a generation of people trying to find their own worth, who knew all we needed was a self-help goblin and a creative homage to horror films gone by?
The modern school of horror filmmaking baths in the waters of metaphor. Some of the massive recent successes such as Get Out or The Invisible Man, or their more independent sized sister films such as The Babadook or It Follows have proven that 21st century horror fans are looking for a film with scares and social subtext. It’s also no coincidence that the young filmmakers creating the films in this neo-horror wave often pay tribute to the classics that we all grew up watching.
Appendage centers around Hannah (Hadley Robinson), a young fashion designer who on the surface seems like she has everything together, but secretly she struggles with pressure, anxiety and a severe lack of self-confidence. As these emotions eat away at her, Hannah notices a disgusting skin condition which worsens with every new nugget of self-doubt, eventually leading to her ‘appendage’ - a tiny flesh colored gremlin who feeds Hannah more and more toxic depression, and grows stronger as Hannah worsens.
Hannah, surprisingly, finds allies in the form of a support group who are coincidentally going through the same situation, and through this support group she learns how to handle her Appendage and take control of her life back. As Hannah’s insecurities worsen, her social anxiety tears at her relationship with her boyfriend (Brandon Mychal Smith) and her best friend (Kausar Mahommad), but luckily she finds a new BFF in the support group named Claudia, who really begins to make her feel better about herself.
Overall, the relatively unknown cast of up-and-coming actors does well to ground this absolutely bizarre situation. What’s more important, the tone is clear from the start, this is not meant to be a laugh-out-loud comedy, nor is it meant to give you nightmares. The balance of comedy and horror is always a delicate thing, and what is crucial within that balance is the circumvention of expectations. A film that can make you chuckle as well as give you a sense of apprehension and discomfort are often fun to watch, and Appendage does well on both fronts. More crucially, the cast not only knew the assignment, but gave it their all to sell the premise.
One of the highlights of the cast was Desmin Borges as Christian, Hannah’s over-the-top foppish boss at her job as a fashion designer. The idea for writer/director Anna Zlokovic to make Hannah an artist is a great bit of obvious self-catharsis for the filmmaker, and Borges arguably sets the humorous tone of the film right away. Christian is supposed to be the epitome of couture, strutting around in his thick rimmed glasses and comedically large white poncho which he seems to wear all the time. Anyone familiar with any kind of pressure associated with sharing one’s art, let alone trying to make a living at it while others judge you is familiar with a Christian, and while the character is more caricature, Borges performance fits extremely well.
Emily Hampshire, who global audiences have recently discovered as the perfectly sarcastic Stevie in Schitt’s Creek is absolutely delicious as Claudia. It is a far cry from Stevie, as Claudia is confident, sleek, sexy, and seems to have all the answers, and it was amazing to see a massive contrast in Hampshire’s recent roles. Not only does the actor pull it off, she is an absolute breath of fresh air in the second half of the film. There is a lot of responsibility thrown at her, as without Claudia the film would probably remain stagnant, but the introduction of the character is the inciting incident to the exciting final act. Hampshire proved she is not only up to the task, but perhaps should lead a film in the future, as her acting shoulders are certainly broad enough for the task.
Coincidentally, the Canadian Hampshire is friends with Canadian filmmaking royalty, Caitlin Cronenberg. Much like her brother, Brandon and famous father, David, Caitlin is also a filmmaker, and the family is typically known for their use of grotesque imagery and body-horror. Hampshire must have felt right at home during production of Appendage, as the film is seemingly heavily influenced by the iconic style of David.
Call it homage or call in inspiration, the real life practical effects of Appendage is also one of the films’ strengths. The grotesque little puppet that acts as different pupal stages of the appendage becomes such a tangible character on screen that you can practically smell the disgusting little goblin. It also lets the audience in on the somewhat comedic tone of the film. If it were somehow CG, or designed differently, it would lack the tongue-in-cheek sensibility which is a large portion of the film’s charm.
Zlokovic had the opportunity to take her short film idea, which was part of the ‘Bite Size Halloween’ series of shorts and develop it further, which is perhaps the only thing lacking from this entertaining film. The run time is just enough, but once you have figured out the subtext of the goblin-fueled life lesson, there’s sadly no other layer. Creating a feature film out of a simplistic idea, as effective as that idea may be, leaves room for the subplots to really delve into something else. It can be argued that the romance between Hannah and her boyfriend is supposed to act as a subplot, or perhaps her struggles with the high-pressure job, but they all stem from the main plot a little too closely, that the story still feels limited.
However, that was never going to be the main attraction of Appendage. Zlokovic, who is clearly a fan of vintage gross out monster movies is a name that will undoubtedly pop up within the genre again in the future, and it will be a lot of fun to see what she comes up with as a writer and filmmaker. As a director, she should be praised for her eclectic comedic casting, and making an independent film feel more like an actual studio piece, as every actor in the film seemed to be on the same quirky page.
For fans of Gremlins, Critters, or Evil Dead but who crave the more modern storytelling touch of having a critical social issue in the jaws of a Cronenberg-esque fleshy Muppet, Appendage is a welcome addition to stream at home.