PARACINEMA: THE POCKET FILM OF SUPERSTITIONS
A brief history of scares
Spoilers for The Pocket Film of Superstitions (2023)
It would be fair to say that this anthology film from Tom Lee Rutter took on a life of its own. Originally conceived as a micro-short using only a single actor’s hands to tell the story, Rutter found himself conceiving more ideas, all linked by the theme of superstition.
Talking after the screening at Paracinema, he acknowledged the irony that his small idea, partially brought about by his dissatisfaction with making low-budget features, had expanded into a multi-year project with a substantial cast list.
Visually, the film is heavily inspired by Häxan (Benjamin Christensen, 1922), shot in black and white with a blue tinge, with similar ideas for the story, and even similar make-up for the creatures on show. Narrated by The Shend, it comprises various skits, each looking at a different superstition, or belief held across the UK.
Many of these are relatively harmless superstitions, and Rutter takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to these. Dates are nearly ruined by the salt spilling, until our intrepid male flings it over his left shoulder into the eyes of the devil. Stepping on cracks in the pavement, or walking under a ladder, are deftly avoided to avert the Evil Eye.
Elsewhere, there are the prop bats with the strings showing and the funny moments of animation that pay homage to Monty Python. But these moments of levity are backed up by detailed histories of how these superstitions came to be, and why we still hold them, meaning that there is never a point where it feels like explicit mocking.
DARKNESS IN THE FIELDS
On the 23rd of March, the first in-person edition of Darkness in the Fields was held at the Derby Quad Cinema. Below, we have collated all of our coverage of the event.
Then there are the scenes which crank up the horror. After a rather gentle introduction to the world of faeries, featuring a bumbling professor, Rutter turns to the idea of changelings: uncanny replacements for children stolen by faeries. With excellent performances from both Imogen Archer and James Underwood as the bereft parents and excellent practical effects, this moment is genuinely unsettling and sees the film take a left turn into darker beliefs such as witchcraft and cults.
As the film expanded, Rutter was able to enlist the help of various UK independent filmmakers, including Michael Fausti and Sam Mason-Bell – he stated after the screening that nearly everyone in the cast was a filmmaker. He also managed to get cameos from some genre legends, including Caroline Munro as the High Priestess and Lynn Lowry as the Hand Maiden, and a host of recognisable faces which makes The Pocket Film… well worth a rewatch for horror fans.
Whereas most anthology films can often struggle to maintain a consistent style or theme, often impacting their quality, having Rutter at the helm throughout makes this a wholly unique piece of work, with in-jokes and a very British view on the supernatural and the superstitions we hold.
It’s well worth seeking out.
Writer/director: Tom Lee Rutter
Starring: Caroline Munro, Lynn Lowry, The Shend, Dani Thompson, Imogen Archer, Michael Fausti, Sam Mason-Bell
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