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Chelsea SpearThe Unhappy Medium (2004)

Set in a New England mill town in the 1920s, the film portrays a contentious relationship between fraudulent spirit medium Fay Stinson (Emily Sweeney) and Tom Lane (Ian Cardoni), her nephew and ward. Tensions mount during a seance held to contact the daughter of a well-to-do couple, in which Tom exposes the ways in which his aunt truly speaks with the dead.


This movie is part of the collection: Open Source Movies

Director: Chelsea Spear
Producer: Giles Cassels
Production Company: Pixievision Films
Sponsor: Pixievision Films
Audio/Visual: sound, black and white
Keywords: Seance; Fraud; Waifs
Contact Information: Chelsea Spear ogygia.ave@gmail.com

Creative Commons license: Attribution

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Reviewer: CaitieDee - - December 14, 2004
Subject: An outstanding short film
An extraordinarily rich and visually stunning short from a promising filmmaker. Steeped in mysticism and myth, The Unhappy Medium effortlessly captures a 1920s New England seance with a breathtakingly vivid visual style that makes full use of the monochromatic scale. Emily Sweeney is compelling as unscrupulous "medium" Fay Stinson, while Ian Cardoni manages to capture Tom Lane's torment in just a few short scenes. A tantalizing glimpse at what's yet to come from director Spear, who envisions The Unhappy Medium as part of an ambitious feature film. Spear is a director we'll be hearing from again. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: Syd Barrett - - October 11, 2004
Subject: Spooky
Great shots and spooky mood. Opening shot with high contrast immediately conveys period feel. Costumes & set were also very convincing. Nice acting!

Reviewer: MeggieMacGroovie - - October 11, 2004
Subject: Spiritualism as it often was.
In the days of the Spiritual Movement, mediums such as this were found in nearly every city. This film could be a short documentary of their methods and motivations. Right down to the exaggeratted expresions and gestures, so typical of early films (being that so many film actors came straight from the theater), this film not only shows period in its script, it captures the look and feel of it.
The sense of tension mentioned in the synopsis, is quite real, a feat for such a short film.

Reviewer: Chris Murphy - - October 6, 2004
Subject: Awesome film from a Boston film crew!
Great job everyone, and I can't wait to see more! I'm in the Boston and area, and would love to be involved in your next production. I'll be writing you an email to say hello...we actually spoke recently about title work!

Credits

Starring Ian Cardoni, Emily Sweeney, Rick Carpenter, Donna Baden, and Lucien Desar. Written, directed, and edited by Chelsea Spear. Produced by Giles Cassels. Lighting by Bill Darmon. Music by Lucien Desar.