Coming to Shudder: Seance

Simon Barrett’s feature-length debut film Seance will likely be the talk of Shudder streamers this week. Barrett pulls from a plethora of different influences to illustrate his brand new horror mystery flick, to varying degrees of success.

Shudder’s official synopsis of Seance:

Camille Meadows is the new girl at the prestigious Edelvine Academy for Girls. Soon after her arrival, six girls invite her to join them in a late night ritual, calling forth the spirit of a dead former student who reportedly haunts their halls. But before morning, one of the girls is dead, leaving the others wondering what they may have awakened.

Seance opens on a group of girls in the Edelvine Academy in a bathroom, attempting to call forth the spirit of a past student who committed suicide in the very bathroom they gather in. According to their ritual it has to be done at the exact time the declaration of death was announced (sometime around 3 AM). Everyone seems to be engrossed in this supernatural experiment except for one girl, aptly named Carrie, as she voices her doubts. The girls continue and eventually follow through, scaring Carrie and revealing to the audience that it was all a prank. Carrie, on the other hand, has no idea as she flees the bathroom in a flash of fear. She runs back to her room and someone — or something — is there with her.

Inanna Sarkis as Alice in the horror SEANCE, an RLJE Films and Shudder release. Photo courtesy of RLJE Films and Shudder.

The film plots an interesting course as not everything is as it seems, and viewers will likely not see the ending coming. The world of the Edelvine Academy envelops the lives of all the girls at the center of the mystery, which helps focus things to one specific setting. A new student, Camille, arrives and takes the only room available, Carrie’s room. Camille learns that Carrie passed away under mysterious circumstances and the true motivation of her death is a secret kept by the group of girls who were there that night. Alas the film takes this simple and focused premise and begins to blow things up beyond its promised scope.

It evokes elements of high school politics that I’m sure most people are glad to not have to deal with anymore. For any of you currently experiencing it, unless you thrive on chaos, you’re likely waiting with baited breath until it’s finally over. All I can say is only those who depended on the cruelty of social hierarchies will continue to practice it, and in the adult world they’re a little easier to spot and avoid. Moving on.

The rhythm of the script weaves in and out of the cruel treatment of Camille by said clique and it becomes unclear if their relationship ever really changes. But the film has more to offer than just the adolescent drama. The group of girls seem to be haunted or followed — the who and the why being the focus of the script. Despite their differences, Camille and the girls in the clique perform a number of rituals to try and contact Carrie and, eventually, the Edelvine Ghost.

(Left to right) Madisen Beaty as Bethany, Inanna Sarkis as Alice, Ella Rae-Smith as Helina, Djouliet Amara as Rosalind, Suki Waterhouse as Camille, and Stephanie Sy as Yvonne in the horror SEANCE, an RLJE Films and Shudder release. Photo courtesy of RLJE Films and Shudder.

The film has some twists and turns, with a noted focus on character ensemble, but it still feels somewhat half-baked. Most of the students don’t truly have a definable character, and that may be on purpose, but it does take a lot of dramatic weight out of the film as clearly you’re supposed to care about someone here. The performances are quite good and everyone does a fine job in pulling you into their world, and the first act of Seance entices you to want to learn more about the mysteries at Edelvine Academy. But the film sadly tries to fit in a handful of influences that end up taking over what Barrett puts forth earlier as the main focus of the film. It’s not without its atmosphere however, and you would do worse than throw this on for spooky season.

Seance premieres on Shudder’s streaming service this Wednesday, September 29th.

[this article was originally published on september 27, 2021 on celluloidconsomme.medium.com.]