Fantasia 2021: Glasshouse (2021)

 

Movie Name/Year: Fantasia 2021: Glasshouse (2021)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Length: 94 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Language: English
Production/Distribution: Local Motion Pictures, Crave Pictures, Showmax, Multichoice Studios
Director: Kelsey Egan
Writer: Emma Lungiswa De Wet, Kelsey Egan
Actors: Jessica Alexander, Hilton Pelser, Anja Taljaard, Adrienne Pearce, Brent Vermeulen, Kitty Harris
 
Blurb from IMDb: Confined to their glasshouse, a family survives The Shred, a toxin that erases memory. Until the sisters are seduced by a Stranger who shatters their peace and stirs a past best left buried.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
When I see a post-apocalyptic thriller on my Fantasia Film Festival watch list, I have certain expectations. I think that really worked against me this time, because Glasshouse definitely leaned more toward the drama genre.
 
Settings like the one attempted in this film are hard. It’s a very confined space with a limited number of characters. Whenever a movie like this is created, it’s exceptionally important that the story captures the audience’s attention – but it lives or dies on the actors’ ability to hold onto it.
 
Where Glasshouse is concerned, the actors fell into their parts and 100% became each character they portrayed.
 
Jessica Alexander (Get Even, Penny on M.A.R.S., A Banquet), Hilton Pelser (The Kissing Booth, Moffie, Home Affairs: A Christmas Tale), Anja Taljaard (Camp Getaway, Double Echo, Inspector Sunshine), Adrienne Pearce (Troy: Fall of a City, Bhai’s Café, The Red Sea Diving Resort), Brent Vermeulen (The Harvesters, Griekwastad, Spoorloos 3), and Kitty Harris were outstanding. From the chaotic drifter to the youngest of the cast, they were flawless. Every time someone opened their mouths, it was like a hook back into the events.
 
Which leads me to my one issue.
 

It was painfully slow.
 
From a hardcore, film student, part-of-the-business, perspective – that wouldn’t be an issue. From a mainstream and, in my case, neurodiverse perspective – the pace mattered. I had trouble concentrating through it.
 
For many movies, that would have been the death of my enjoyment. However, because the actors kept pulling me back in, I was able to stick with it until events ramped up and started getting intriguing. I’m glad I stuck with it, too. It’s a film I’ll remember fondly.
 
I think it’s also worth mentioning that a second watch-through of Glasshouse is almost necessary. There are many bits and pieces of scenes that hit harder, and make more sense, the second time around. If you opt to watch it once, you should watch it twice.
 
It was a brutally beautiful story and setting. A lot of people will absolutely love it, but it won’t be for everyone.
   

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3.5/5
 
Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R
 
Movie Trailer: