The Drownsman – Toronto After Dark 2014

After nearly drowning in a lake, Madison (Michelle Mylett) has developed a fear of water, since she sees a large monstrous figure, known as The Drownsman (Ry Barrett), near every water source.  Fed up with her supposedly irrational fears, Madison’s friend Hannah (Hannah) stages a séance/intervention to try and snap Madison out of it.  However, the séance only works in making all of Madison’s friends a target for The Drownsman’s wrath.  With the group of friends being picked off one by one, Madison and Hannah set off to find a way to stop The Drownsman, before he plunges them into the depths. A quite obvious comparison to the plot of The Drownsman is A Nightmare on Elm Street, except that the titular monster attacks through water instead of dreams.  The film is somewhat effective in building tension whenever a source of water is nearby, since it is only a matter of time until The Drownman jumps out and grabs someone.  However, the concept of a monster that jumps out of any source of water, including spills on a table, has a certain ridiculous aspect to it. In fact, there are many scenes in the film, where the characters’ growing fear of water, results in more laughs that scares. It is interesting to note that, with the exception of Ry Barrett as The Drownsman, all the lead roles in the film are female.  I’m not sure if this was on purpose, or something that just came about, but I did end up noticing the lack of men in the film.  Much of the film is based around the friendship between Madison and Hannah, which was damaged by Madison’s fears, but heals as Hannah realizes these fears are true. Overall, The Drownsman is not a perfect film, but it does have its moments. 7 | FAIR