GLASSHOUSE
Growing pains
RELEASED LATE JANUARY 2021 | TBC | Download
Director Kelsey Egan
Cast Jessica Alexander, Adrienne
Pearce, Hilton Pelser, Anja Taljaard
This slow-burn psychosexual thriller distinguishes itself by being far more depraved than its initially austere air suggests.
In a post-apocalyptic hellscape, the air is contaminated with “the shred”, a toxin that strips people of their memories. A family of five survives living in an airtight glasshouse, with enough vegetation inside to create a closed ecosystem. They stick to strict rules dictated by Mother (Adrienne Pearce), venture outside only in gas masks, and shoot intruders on sight.
A stranger (Hilton Pelser) arrives claiming to be prodigal son
Lucas, but in a world of disintegrating memories no one can be sure of who anyone, including themselves, truly is. Trapped in the glasshouse, they cultivate fruits, vegetables and incestuous sexual tensions.
There is some impressive composition from director Kelsey Egan who, despite the transparency of this house, fills the film with claustrophobia; within the garden you can practically feel the air heavy with mind-altering toxins. A slow, restrained piece of work, it’s unlikely to do much for those who like their thrillers chock full of jump scares, but for those with more patience there are plenty of interesting ideas here about duty to family and the fallibility of the mind. Leila Latif
The key location is the 19th century Pearson Conservatory in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, restored in the noughties.