Filmmaker Mark G. Lakatos crafts a dark and sinister tale of family abandonment in the chilling patriarchal short film Reunion. The story begins as Sean (Patrick Thomas Kovacs) returns home to visit his ailing father, Robert (Brett Bickley). What initially appears to be a typical family reunion—marked by the impending loss of a parent—quickly spirals into a tale of deceit and family redemption. This film serves as a modern-day fairy tale, exploring the ravenous “wolf” side of humanity and keeping the audience captivated until the very end.
Writer/Director/Editor Lakatos treats us with a dazzling script that is both brooding and poetic. The filmmaker begins the audience’s journey into the dark void of Reunion with a beautifully narrated animated (Alma Csige) opening sequence. The script is rich with themes of rapaciousness, mortality, and self-destruction, which are further heightened by the ominous cinematography (Ármin Réthly). He employs a significant number of handheld shots, creating a sense of unease and trepidation. The camera movements, particularly the roving shots in the bathroom and kitchen scenes, are crucial for building suspense and deepening the tension.
The audience is given a glimpse into the inner workings of the conflicted protagonist, Sean (Kovacs), whose portrayal exudes a menacing intensity. He brings depth to the role, delivering the powerful script with conviction in nearly every scene. As the story unfolds, the audience gains insight into the complexities of his tortured soul, caught between the primal instincts of wolf and man.
Sean’s father, Robert (Bickley), is a troubled character who evokes sympathy from the audience, especially as he is bedridden and blind with an unknown diagnosis. Bickley delivers a provocative performance that invites empathy, yet leaves the audience uncertain about Robert’s legacy as more stories about Sean and his brother’s childhood emerge. Robert appears to have endured significant emotional and physical trauma, and his body bears the marks of years of strain, accentuated by the creepy unsettling costume design (Jazmin Lakatos).
Lakatos reveals much of his characters’ motivations through striking visuals, often devoid of dialogue, as seen in the bathroom and kitchen scenes. These moments subtly indicate Sean’s fragile mental state. As the audience observes Sean’s physical and nervous behavior while traveling to meet his father, it feels like a potential foreshadowing of the events to come. He appears conflicted, yet simultaneously driven, pushing himself to the brink of mental and physical collapse. Other graphic scenes gently build a sense of foreboding, preparing the audience for the darkness ahead. The filmmaker crafts a gruesome set piece that serves as a tale of inner reflection. In such a short narrative, every element must come together quickly, and the sound design (Zsolt Pápai)—particularly during the escalating thunderstorm in the kitchen scene—heightens the tension as Sean prepares dinner.
The elaborate practical make-up and special effects (Marielle Montagnon) are paired with dim, indirect lighting and deep shadows, all presented in quick cuts to preserve the eerie terror of the scenes by revealing only brief glimpses of the horror. The surreal quality of the somber special effects intensifies the sense of unexpected fear, while Montagnon’s make-up effects on Sean and his father are particularly striking, evoking a sense of bleakness and heightening the suspense as the story unfolds.
In a world that is becoming increasingly dangerous, Reunion offers a fresh and potent spin on classic Grimm Fairytale tropes. Lakatos illuminates the shadows of evil within us and the torment that is swiftly eroding mankind. The film delves into the emotional struggle of humanity, exploring themes of greed, self-destruction, and death. While the struggle with our inner demons is nothing new, Lakatos provides a horrific, yet existential take on the metaphorical balance between wolf and man.
