Diana (Diana Porter) hasn't seen her friend Holly (Kasey Lansdale) for months; with calls unanswered and deeply worried, she heads over to her apartment to see what's wrong. An eviction notice is taped to the front door. Even more concerned now, she hammers on the door, until
Holly opens up. She’s angry at all the noise, and is looking incredibly dishevelled;
it’s as though she hasn’t slept in a while. It transpires that her baby is
sick; “Baby?” Diana clearly didn’t
know her friend was expecting. She’s even more concerned when Holly winces –
holding her head as if attempting to block out some agonising noise – then looks
up, with maniacally glazed eyes, “He’s
stopped”. Diana sees the room has been ransacked, and there’s a putrid
smell which has her gagging. She’s clearly concerned for the welfare of the
baby as well as her friend, who is obviously very unwell too.
As it’s only a seven minute film, it’s not really fair to
divulge much more of the story. You could probably guess certain elements
anyway, particularly given the title. What you won’t guess is how twisted it
gets, and there’s more than a few shocks in store along the way within the
brief running time.
With an remarkably immersive sound design (thanks to
all-rounder Bryan McKay – who also handles the fluid and natural
cinematography), and complementary score by Shayne Gryn, which is never
overpowering or obvious, it’s a joy to watch no matter how grim and disturbing
the subject and visuals are.
Izzy Lee is part of a new breed of horror directors (who, I’ve
no doubt, could also turn their hands to other genres too) coming up at the
moment. What’s brilliant, and purely co-incidental, is this young blood are
mainly female. Alongside now-established talent such as the Soska Sisters, we
have directors such as Izzy, Maude Michaud (Dys-),
Jill Sixx Gevargizian (Call
Girl), Jennifer Kent (The
Babadook), among many others who form this new breed of director who are
making this genre exciting again. Gender is irrelevant, as it should be, and
these filmmakers are pulling no punches with what they are depicting on screen.
If there’s any sense and justice in the world (yeah, I know
there isn’t, but I can hope) film festivals the globe over will pick up Postpartum to add to their roster. With
many more projects in the pipeline for release later this year, and after being
fundamental in the fundraising for the bronze bust of Edgar Allan Poe that now
proudly sits in the Boston Public Library, Izzy Lee is going to be a name you
will be hearing more of, and for all the right reasons. In the meantime, sales of clingfilm will be going through the roof...
8 out of 10
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