I’m glad that someone finally covered the idea of the things we see in our peripheral vision. Honestly, this is an idea that has interested me for some time, mostly due to my many hours spent reading scary stories about peripheral monsters and real life accounts of those who claim to see creatures just beyond the perimeter of their eye-line. When Lynn Lowry offered me a chance to view this short film, obviously I jumped at the opportunity!
The Peripheral is written and directed by J.T. Seaton, most known for his feature film George’s Intervention and theatrical remake of The Whole Town’s Sleeping. The only two cast members appearing in The Peripheral are Lynn Lowry (Shivers, The Crazies, Cat People) and Randy Frank. The film’s synopsis is as follows, “When a patient, Kenny, shows up at her home unexpectedly, Dr. Joanna Redding attempts to help him overcome his ‘irrational’ phobia of the creatures that he sees in his peripheral vision. Dr. Redding uses Exposure Therapy, forcing Kenny to face his fear. Of course, the creatures that terrify Kenny are very real – and very deadly. It’s a chilling discovery that Dr. Redding uncovers too late.”
The first thought that went through my head when I started watching The Peripheral was, “Oh, wow. Ok, this is actually a film.” Let me be more clear on this. A lot of the time, especially with independent productions, the quality of production is somewhat lacking. Whether it’s an outdated camera – like mine – or somewhat questionable audio, there’s usually something to critique as a fellow filmmaker. The Peripheral is, literally, all around perfect when it comes to all technical aspects. I cannot find a single department to harp on or give constructive criticism. Not only is The Peripheral a step above a lot of the other short film’s to come out recently, but it looks like it has a much bigger budget. This makes me yearn for a feature length adaption. I’d love to see what Seaton, Lowry, and Frank could do with a full script and more time. I think it would be a straight-to-DVD success.
Randy Frank and Lynn Lowry did such a fantastic job in this short film that you’ll be struck by the depth of their connection to character. This is my first time seeing any material from Frank, but he was so good. It’s easy to look sad. It’s easy to sound sad. But Frank did a superb job of making his performance sound believable. He was astounding as “Kenny” here, capable of causing the audience to actually feel something, and I wanted to dive through the computer screen and give him a hug during his darkest moments. Lynn Lowry, on the other hand, is like fine wine. She’s gotten better with age. I am blown away by her as an actress. She is easily one of the most talented scream queens in the game and it shows here. She is capable of exuding emotion and she is a chameleon with the way in which she can play a different character at the drop of a hat. My god, she is one bad ass, talented lady. I can’t wait to see what she does next. Major props to both cast members!
Without even realizing it, I quickly found myself stressed and left in anticipation and suspense for “Kenny” and “Dr. Redding.” The script was so clever, so well thought out and researched, that it began to feel real for me. So, when the you-know-what starts to hit the fan, I was really scared for them! Such a great script that was only highlighted by the abilities of the actors. When they are discussing the menacing creatures in “Kenny’s” peripherals I actually yelled, “I want to see!” at my computer screen. I had to see what they were talking about. I was so drawn in. Now, The Peripheral reminded me of Pulse for some odd reason up until I finally got a look at the monster. And, thankfully, it was well done and didn’t appear hokey at all. I give my praise to Ron Cole for doing an awesome job as stop motion animator. I’ve done two short stop motion projects and they are a hard thing to do. Cole brought the creature to life by trying to mimic the effects of Ray Harryhausen and boy did it pay off. The monster looked so professionally done, way better than anything you’d see on SyFy!
My only critique, and this is just being nitpick-y, is that I would have loved to see a chase scene involving Lynn and the peripheral monsters. I was waiting for it, but as time was in the essence, I realized it wasn’t going to happen. This would have been another great performance piece to Lynn’s character and a real, proud showing of Cole’s creature creation. An extra minute would have satisfied me…unless they decide to make this into a feature film… *wink wink, nudge nude* Do it now…
Wow. This was an amazing short film. So professional shot and written. Such talented players. A great creature. And a concept that hadn’t been visited before in the world of horror. I only became aware of The Peripheral last night – so I have no idea of its history – but I have no doubt this will win dozens of awards in the film festival circuit if it hasn’t already. The first A+ movie I’ve seen in 2015. I’m going to rate this one a 9.5 out of 10.
