Within This Wall
Arthur struggles to explain the hole that's been mysteriously drilled into his wall
and the stranger that stares back at him from inside it.
Horror is such a tricky genre; much like ice cream in certain ways. Everyone’s got their favorite flavor. Gothic, splatter, torture porn, surreal… the menu’s long. But no matter the particular scares one likes served, one aspect’s universal: that some of the best nightmares involve turning mundane life upside down, in unique – and very unexpected – directions.
Such is true of Rob Herzog’s bizarro and satiating horror short, Within This Wall.
Meet Arthur Porter, 50s. Your average life’s-betrayed-him middle-aged male Karen, Arthur whiles away his days in a bland apartment, choking down TV dinners, swilling whiskey – and bitching about what his building’s maintenance crew has screwed up this time.
For instance, that atrocious hole someone drilled into his wall when he wasn’t micro-managing. Those idiots even drew a magic marker arrow pointing to it, for Cripes Sakes!!
Arthur calls up his superintendent. Instantly complaints fly:
ARTHUR
There's no reason for this whatsoever.
Do you drug test those guys?
A muffled response.
But Arthur’s whining does generate results. A day later, repair dude Marcelo arrives. But according to him, that hole came from somewhere else.
MARCELO
I didn't do that.
ARTHUR
Then who did?
MARCELO
Not me. I was never in this unit, man.
I didn't drill no hole. Nobody drilled no hole.
Badgered further, Marcelo shrugs.
MARCELO
Who knows? This building ain't normal.
There's psychos everywhere.
A little more back and forth “negotiation” yields that Marcelo can return later in the week… after more pressing projects are cleared from his plate. And what does it really matter? It’s just a teeny-tiny hole – what harm could IT do?
In theory? Sure. Until that night, when things… change.
Annoyed to the point of frenzy due to his cherished wall’s “blemish”, a bored Arthur peeks through the hole and sees:
A TEENY TINY WOMAN inside – Fiona Brack. Almost like a living dollhouse, Fiona’s got an apartment just like Arthur’s. Twenty something with flawless skin, Fiona’s gorgeous. Except for her too-wide, eerie smile.
And thus a strange courtship begins: Arthur talking to Fiona. Trying to suss out what she is. He even gives her things to eat and drink. Amazon Prime doesn’t deliver to miniature apartments in walls, so doesn’t that make sense?
Trapped in his boring “little” life, Arthur finds himself mesmerized by this unexpected peepshow. But though Arthur’s companion is beautiful to behold, things are about to ugly… fast.
Visually and narratively a “tiny” gem, Within This Wall is a short horror directors should grab quick. Because Fiona won’t be denied. And – as she does with Arthur – she’ll keep festival audiences transfixed!