Separation Review (Short Film, 2020)
content warning: blood, gore, medical/injury
Liz and Mark are getting divorced. Everything will be finalized tomorrow. But today, they need to get through the sickness that starts with Mark and spreads to Liz.
Writer/director Rebekah McKendry and writer David Ian McKendry hit on something special in their six minute short film “Separation.” I’m a big fan of short form horror, but it can be a challenge to pull off effectively. You need a simple enough concept for the audience to understand without a lot of exposition. You also need to build to a clear scare that feels justified by what came before.
“Separation” is medical/body horror as metaphor for a messy divorce. Liz and Mark are clearly ready to move on. Mark is coughing every few seconds and insists on getting the paperwork finalized that day even after Liz offers to reschedule for later in the week. She’s clearly relieved that he doesn’t want to wait any longer.
As they get closer to no longer being married, the sickness gets worse. They half-heartedly offer support to each other—yes, you can also sleep in the bed; no, I don’t need to share a doctor’s appointment with you—but they’re just going through the motions. They’re hours away from no longer being responsible for each other and racing to the finish line.
The structure is a series of vignettes. These slice of life moments from the end of a relationship are all turned askew by the sickness. It starts with a cough interrupting the conversation. Mark starts to get a little flush, then Liz coughs for the first time. It only progresses from there. Simple scenes of relaxing after work or getting ready for bed are disturbed by the ever-increasing list of symptoms.
“Separation” features creative practical effects and makeup. A lot of the sickness comes down to the actors and some blush and bruise wheel work. The prosthetics look naturally possible, but not necessarily in the way they’re combined together. The result is gore that adds suspense to the story.
“Separation” is a quick and clever horror film. The simple plot allows for some great metaphors to be built into the makeup and scares.
“Separation” is streaming on Shudder.