After several short films made under the banner of the fantasy-horror genre, Wyvern Hill retitled Hollow for the sake of a wider distribution, mark Jonathan's first step into the feature film arena.
The story of Beth, suffering with Alzheimer, and of her crumbling world opens the door to a metaphorical tale, odd mix of the study of the study of the slow erosion of her family relationships caused by her disease and a significant homage to the slasher, a genre identified through precise narrative and visual codes.
It is always complicated talking about films that have been lead and directed by friends, the knowledge you have of their taste and of their claim over a certain kind of cinema can lead to a bias in the appreciation one can have of the final results.
Produced with a super low budget of just £5000, the film is most and foremost a tribute to the cinephilia that shaped the director on his professional and personal path, with the strong conviction and desire of fully embracing his multiple references anchored deep within.
Wyvern Hill suffers perhaps from a slightly stretched out narrative but is used as a fertile ground for carefully crafted framing and lighting inherited directly from the Giallo and the cinema of Dario Argento, while its finale is reminiscent of the sickly and sensory excess of George Romero, one of Jonathan's filmic gurus.
In an increasingly formatted cinematic landscape, the production alternative on show here demonstrates not only a strong desire to exist but denotes the unbreakable faith of a director who does not stop refining his art within his own learning and in approaching a genre which he systematically questions, with a truly personal vision, even if his generosity impacts a pace which could have sometimes been tightened.
But as it is, Wyvern Hill is the demonstration of a cinema which manages to free itself from its own restrictions to become absolutely free.
In 2021, I don't need to tell you how precious this is, it deserves to be preserved.
The story of Beth, suffering with Alzheimer, and of her crumbling world opens the door to a metaphorical tale, odd mix of the study of the study of the slow erosion of her family relationships caused by her disease and a significant homage to the slasher, a genre identified through precise narrative and visual codes.
It is always complicated talking about films that have been lead and directed by friends, the knowledge you have of their taste and of their claim over a certain kind of cinema can lead to a bias in the appreciation one can have of the final results.
Produced with a super low budget of just £5000, the film is most and foremost a tribute to the cinephilia that shaped the director on his professional and personal path, with the strong conviction and desire of fully embracing his multiple references anchored deep within.
Wyvern Hill suffers perhaps from a slightly stretched out narrative but is used as a fertile ground for carefully crafted framing and lighting inherited directly from the Giallo and the cinema of Dario Argento, while its finale is reminiscent of the sickly and sensory excess of George Romero, one of Jonathan's filmic gurus.
In an increasingly formatted cinematic landscape, the production alternative on show here demonstrates not only a strong desire to exist but denotes the unbreakable faith of a director who does not stop refining his art within his own learning and in approaching a genre which he systematically questions, with a truly personal vision, even if his generosity impacts a pace which could have sometimes been tightened.
But as it is, Wyvern Hill is the demonstration of a cinema which manages to free itself from its own restrictions to become absolutely free.
In 2021, I don't need to tell you how precious this is, it deserves to be preserved.