Screamfest Horror Film Festival 2019: GLASS CABIN

It is the month of horror, chills and scares, and there is no better way to spend it than watching horror films all month long. While many will dive back into the classics and modern scares, each year, new films are added to the seasonal repertoire, broadening our choices and our indulgence each season. With Screamfest, an annual LA film festival taking place each October, the latest in horror have the chance to reach a mass of audiences, new showcases of horror finding a platform of success. This year, Screamfest brings to audiences Glass Cabin, a short film by Cadu Türedi that is sure to make you squirm with claustrophobia.

Glass Cabin

As a young tennis player begins her stay at a local home, she finds herself alone in the woods, winter bringing the harsh solitude to the already desolate home. Residing their as she trains, everything arranged by her parents, her life appears to revolve around only tennis. As she first arrives, there is little to tour within the house, the structure and vast number of windows allowing almost a 360 degree view of the home. As she takes in her surroundings, a man eerily walks up to one of the windows, the sound of his tapping slicing through the silence within the home.

As Scarlett (Revell Carpenter) cautiously approaches him, horror fans will find themselves screaming at the TV to not engage, to not open the door. We are trained to be wary of strange men dressed in black rapping on window. We know better. And so does Scarlett – initially. As the young man introduces himself as David (David Mar Stefansson) (with a “th” at the end), he has been sent by the owners of the home to make sure she gets settled and knows her way around. Still cautious, Scarlett lets him in, his introduction of the house and its wi-fi leading both Scarlett and viewers to wonder if he truly is who he says he is.

As he leaves, his visit clearly sits with Scarlett, who is able to forget the interaction in the safety of the tennis court, but finds the fear only lurking, waiting for her when she gets home. As the weather worsens and contact with the outside world is cut off, Scarlett finds her mind running wild, questions about reality and delusion taking hold. As night falls, so do the tricks of the mind and conscious decisions go literally right out the window.

Creating the Scene

This film is all about the house. Without the setting, I feel the film would not have worked as strongly as it did. There are so many windows, leaving any one inside to feel naked and exposed. There is no shelter, nowhere to hide from anyone looking in. No way to keep someone out – they could just break the windows down. At night, these windows become the doors to the abyss, as though the home had been sucked into a black hole. You cannot see outside, you cannot see what is coming for you – though you know, anyone can see inside.

Beyond the windows, the house (even the shower) is wide open, almost engulfing. The house is void of any frills, anything to fill the space. There is little decoration and furniture, even the bed linens are a dull color.  Rather it is the sound that fills the space here.

When Scarlett first arrives, as she opens each door to the outside, the sound of the wind is overbearing, the silence from inside the home instantly vanished. As she closes the door, she is once again sealed inside, the silence returning to create the perfect platform of paranoia. As David arrives, their voices and movements around the house seemingly echo, violating the silence. Nothing goes unheard in this house.

Glass Cabin does boast an impressive, eery and unsettling score to fill this silent void for viewers. While we are aware of the maddening silence Scarlett finds herself in, viewers are given a score reminiscent of Psycho that packs the tension and elevates the suspense. You are waiting for something to happen, whether it be of the delusional nature or of real life.

Conclusion: Glass Cabin

While the short film medium is a passion, I do not have the opportunity often to surround myself with horror shorts. Glass Cabin is a delectable little horror short reaching into the depths of the human mind, a mind that cannot be trusted. Isolation and fear are recipes for success, ones director Can Türedi mixes well.