[REVIEW] Brooklyn Horror Film Festival: Sinphony

Volume One of Sinphony, an anthology created over the voice-based social media service, was released by Dark Sky Films in theaters and VOD on October 21, 2022. The anthology includes ten short films that deal with a supernatural element in one way or another.

Let’s start with the positives: the Sinphony anthology was completely conceived and created over an audio-only platform. This gives us a base understanding of the group working on this film and its people who want to try something new and innovate the horror genre. The horror genre is, in particular, a sect of pop culture that does tend to have a big online network, as it is itself a counterculture. The fact that the film was formed through an online community is only fitting for the audience they are working to reach. This anthology was made for people who love horror by artists who love horror, and that’s really made clear throughout the piece. 

Sinphony also gives opportunities to new filmmakers who are looking to experiment in their craft. The majority of the creators have few credits prior to the project and Sinphony allowed them to show off their work. The anthology is already set for a sequel, which will allow for even more up-and-coming filmmakers, which is always extremely exciting.

Source: Brooklyn Horror Film Festival

Though the creative process is exciting and encouraging to the industry as a whole, the piece as a whole does feel unfocused and the shorts could use further development. While some themes shined, such as the exploration of the gendered expectations of women in shorts like Maternally Damned and Forever Young, some of the other themes were unclear. The short Ear Worm which follows a father and son, who rush their work updating a building despite warnings of a supernatural entity, has a script that tells more than it shows and the performances from the actors are just not up to the same level as the other shorts in the collection. The ideas are there, but it definitely needs to be fleshed out some more.

The major highlight of the piece are the bookend sequences. The opening scene depicts a woman giving birth to a baby who ends up being a demon. This child shows up in the sequence The Keeper where his parents collect strangers to become his prey for him. The end sequence finds the same child creating a mask for a newborn: the same mask worn by the killer in the first short Mother Love, letting the audience know the origin of this story. These pieces that bring together specific sequences are standouts and show that the creators have a specific vision that was successfully achieved. Perhaps this through line needed more of the focus of the film to really tighten all the film's elements and bring it together as a cohesive piece.

Sinphony is definitely still worth a watch, though it does fall flat in some sections. The work and dedication of the creators is apparent and given that these are works by filmmakers at the beginning of their careers, their potential is what gives the piece its spark. The opportunities present in the piece alone makes it so special and hopefully the sequel will work towards correcting the flaws of this first installment.