One of the downsides to living in Edinburgh, the home of the world's largest arts festival, is that you get invited to a lot of shows, a lot of shows that you didn't want to watch, and after sitting through them, you wish you lived on some remote island. Many of these shows are "experimental" one-man shows where you are forced to sit through some drama student's idea of what is entertainment.
Those memories run deep, which is why when the filmmakers behind Faye initially contacted Ginger Nuts of Horror for a review of their one-woman horror film, I was initially filled with extreme trepidation. The memories of sitting in some dingy basement watching someone for an hour or so, bring me as close to the point of murder as I have ever come, came flooding back. However, I gave the shot and watched the trailer that they sent over with the initial contact. And I have to say I was intrigued; from the get-go, the trailer didn't give much away, but what I saw made me think that this had the potential to be something special. Faye bills itself as the first single female-led feature film; how could that work? I hear you ask, how can a horror film work where Faye is the only character to ever appear on the screen? Where does the tension, the fear and the sense of horror come from? I to was wary about this; I had visions of it being a film filled with shots of mirrors acting as mirrors are wont to do in horror films. Thankfully that's not the case; the horror comes mainly from the intense performance from Sarah Zanotti and the many creative ways in which the filmmakers approach the concept of having only one actor on the screen for the entire length of the film. The film itself is a simple tale, where Faye, a successful self-help guru, is struggling to write the follow-up to her latest bestselling book and is sent to find some quality alone time in her agent's cabin in the woods. I know, that should already have alarm bells ringing in Faye's head and ours; nothing good has ever come from spending any time in an isolated cabin in the woods, especially when you consider that Faye is already struggling from the recent death of her husband in a car accident. That is just a recipe for disaster. And sure enough, Faye becomes haunted by a presence in the cabin, a presence that is desperate to gain retribution. I've watched many a film over the years, which has these familiar tropes as the film's driving force; this meant that Faye needed to pull something special out of the hat to grab my attention. And boy, did it do just that, unless you read the marketing blurbs for the film or this review, you would never believe that a crew of only four people shot the film, nevermind that it was shot on an iPhone. The cinematography is exceptional; from incredible drone scene-setting shots to intelligent tracking and steady-cam shots, the cameras work is worthy of a film with a much higher budget. Combined with some assured editing, innovative cuts, and excellent set lighting, the film looks impressive. It rips apart the notion that you need tons of expensive equipment to shoot a movie that looks good. The only downside to watching Faye is that it will make me far more critical of over "low budget" films; if Faye can make a film look good, why can't others. The soundtrack wonderfully complements the film; it never overbears on any scene or over signals ay of the few jump scares in the movie. This is an emotional film with a lot of heart, and the soundtrack works perfectly in unison with the events on the screen to drive home the film's emotional beats. From what I am lead to believe, the soundtrack was an early mix, with sone final tweaks still to be made to it, but to be honest, I would not have known this if they hadn't told me. My only criticism of the film's production side is, at times, the sound quality of Sarah Zanotti's voice in the movie has that recorded on a small stage feel, where it had a sort of echoey feel to it. Truthfully, it's a minor gripe that will hopefully be addressed in the film's final edit. The film is split into five chapters. With each chapter being told from the perspective of the Five Stages of Grief, I wasn't aware of this going into the film. It took me a couple of chapters to understand the concept behind the movie narrative structure. Each chapter is headed by a monologue from Sarah Zanotti, sitting on a chair on a stage. I loved how they kept these segments ambiguous, with you unsure as to when these scenes are set in the story's narrative, are the recorded before the events of the film or are they set after the events of the film. It's a clever ploy as it keeps you guessing as to whether or not Faye makes it out of the movie alive. Don't worry; I won't spoil the film for you; I'm not even going to say much more about what happens in the rest of the film, as this is one of those films that are best watched with as little prior knowledge as possible. 
The film does contain several familiar tropes, and yes, there are a couple of jump scares, but the filmmaker's knowledge of genre prevents them from either being overused or even cliched. You can tell that this isn't just a bunch of friends who got together and thought, "Hey, let's make a film", they have a deep understanding of both the genre and how to make a great horror film.
This brings us to the central part of this film, Sarah Zanotti performance as Faye. I'll say this you have got to have a lot of courage to accept a role like this, ninety minutes of screen time where you are the only thing on screen for the viewer to focus on. When they said the spotlight would be on you, I don't think any actor would have imagined this level of scrutiny. There was no place, literary or metaphorically, for Sarah Zanotti to hide. The whole film lives or dies on her performance. What a complete and utter revelation; I've lost count of the number of films where the actors could barely act their way out of a paper bag, let alone have a performance that is so captivating you can hang a whole movie on their shoulders. Sarah Zanotti's nuanced, emotional and powerful portrayal of Faye is a pure honour to watch. Her performance range and depth are magnificent; from delivering some light comedic relief to scenes of severe emotional trauma, she is never anything but convincing. Watching her performance develop and change as we go through the five stages of grief is a revelation, with both the subtle side and the more overtly broad brush strokes elements of her performance being allowed to breathe on screen, ensuring that viewer's eyes and concentration never wander from what is unfolding in front of them. As a horror film, Faye delivers the goods with gusto, panache, and style; however, what lifts this film from being just another haunted cabin move is its sympathetic handling of the concept of grief, regret and self-hate. Faye is a film that shatters the conception that horror films have nothing real to say; it takes the limitations of what many class as horror and rewrites the rulebook. A powerful, emotionally driven film, Faye is an arresting film, with a beguiling performance from its lead that deserves to be on everyone's must watch list. 
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