Emma Dark’s Experimental Art Film PURGATORIC Released Online; Watch Now
Emma Dark may have just won the Starburst Award for Best Director for her phenomenal sci-fi short Salient Minus Ten (review), but the acclaimed filmmaker certainly isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Her latest project was Purgatoric, an experimental art film which you can view in the player below.
Purgatoric stars artist and horror icon Billy Chainsaw as a man who wanders alone on a beach, contemplating death, sadness, and eventually, hope. Dark shot the film digitally, and used techniques in post production to give it a Super 8mm look, which she felt would be appropriate for the sombre tone she was aiming for.
In the press release, Dark provided the following statement about her vision for Purgatoric:
“Although my focus to date has been on larger scale projects I wanted to take some time in-between other ventures to experiment with a variety of concepts, themes and camera techniques. I’ve already released various other self shot creative pieces to the web but have generally kept these fairly low key to avoid detracting away from my festival short films (which take considerably more time, money and resources). However, I plan to create a range of creative and commercial pieces featuring named actors and public figures to show versatility and to carry that experience across to larger projects, with the end goal ultimately being a debut feature film.
“I’d had the basic idea for Purgatoric floating around in my head for a couple of years, and when Billy and The Core both expressed interest in being part of a future project it seemed like the right time to explore this idea. Everyone involved has put their all into Purgatoric, and I think that shows in the end result. I do hope audiences like the film.”
The haunting soundtrack was composed by a band known as The Core, which consists of musicians Pete McDonnell and Mick Corr, and the poster was created by artist Joe K. Worrall. The film also features a bisected seagull, but don’t worry, it was like that when they found it. Honest.
I attended a screening of Purgatoric at London’s Horse Hospital, which was accompanied by a live performance from Mr. Chainsaw, which was directed by Ms. Dark herself. Whilst that experience can’t be replicated for those of you watching at home, I’m sure you’ll still have a lot to think about after viewing Purgatoric.
