[Short Film Review] SEEING GREEN - Nightmarish Conjurings

Bummed out by a certain global pandemic, governmental ineptitude, and existential dread? Chelsea Stardust‘s short horror-comedy film SEEING GREEN is a welcome escape from the Quarantine Blues.

In SEEING GREEN, a bride-to-be, Tabby, brings her two friends, Hazel and Claire, to a mysterious bakery to taste cakes for her upcoming wedding. We learn that Tabby is indecisive about certain details of her big day – for example, she hasn’t picked out any bridesmaids dresses, and although she knows she wants them to wear green, she hasn’t decided on a shade.

We also learn that her fiance is a misogynist who is unsatisfactory in the sack.

When Tabby and her friends sample an ectoplasm green cake, something odd happens to our leading lady. She passes out, and when the baker, Lindsay, brings her around with smelling salts, it seems that a flip has been switched; Tabby’s once-demure personality has turned into something monstrous.

As a short film, SEEING GREEN has so many amazing qualities that just make the film work. The dialogue, written by Danielle Bauman, is clever, deliberate, funny, and most of all, believable. While the script flows at a quick pace, several lines stick out, like “That is the color of Exorcist vomit” and “Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater, had a fiancee and couldn’t please her.”

The acting in SEEING GREEN must be addressed as well. Megan Duffy portrays Tabby brilliantly, especially in her transformation from a meek and self-conscious woman to one who is bold, brash, deranged, and possibly possessed. Duffy’s performance in this role only lasted for the 8-minute runtime, but I could easily watch her play this character in a full-length feature.

Duffy is strongly supported by co-stars Vanessa Garcia and Mackenzie Firgens, who play Hazel and Claire, respectively. Let’s talk about their performances for a sec. As characters, Hazel and Claire are foils – Hazel is a wild and loose party girl while Claire is more sensible, organized, and mature. The three women are radically different…but thanks to Garcia and Firgens’ acting chops, their friendship, and their friendship with Tabby, is 100% believable to the audience. Subtle details, like quirks in eye contact, posture, and tone of voice, add realism and humanity to a supernatural story.

And we can’t forget Whitton Frank‘s portrayal of the devious baker; Frank was simply hilarious in her depravity.

SEEING GREEN isn’t just one of those films that you can watch over and over again without growing tired of it; it’s a film you watch closely to learn what works in a short that makes it successful.

Catch it on YouTube now. You know you have the time.