I can’t downright say that The Things We Keep is a realistic short film. Joanna Fernandez’s film is shrouded in horror tropes, and the director doesn’t beat around the bush: Fernandez is pushing to make a scary film. What’s interesting is that The Things We Keep also explores a universal truth that connects very well with the premise and the conclusion of the short. We have all been “Kate” at some point, but hopefully, we won’t find what Kate does.
It all begins when Kate decides to do something about her reclusive mother. The old lady is living by herself and after her dementia proves to be unbearable Kate decides she needs to go to a nursing home. When she enters the apartment, it’s very clear that her mother can’t take care of herself. She’s a hoarder, and one of the prolific ones.
Kate navigates a house that reeks of memories and mold. She tries to cope with the fact that her mother may be more on the other side. Some things are not recuperable, so Kate decides to act. She will clean and cleanse, and try to provide some dignity to her mother. The problem is that the mold has a cause, an entity that has grown inside the walls of the rotting department, and who has decided to jump out.
The Things We Keep is an impressive proof of concept of a visionary director who has something in store for horror. While it’s clearly a creature feature, the short also manages to develop the backstory enough to prove that the dread has a cause, and that the relationship between mother and daughter holds a past that’s best left unexplored.
Jenny O’Hara, the character actor of films like Mystic River, and TV shows like The King of Queens and Big Love, has a very short but effective performance as the mother. Though the role doesn’t require O’Hara’s signature wickedness, she does a great job in embodying someone who’s facing something incomprehensible. Nevertheless, Rebecca Holopter as Kate fully shines. It’s her capacity to achieve a multilayered character in such a short time that makes her fully believable in spite of the supernatural circumstances. She perfectly represents that bittersweet instance in which a short film shows the audience someone that we want to know more of, but there’s just no time.
Unfortunately, Kate’s fate is sealed in this very interesting short by a writer/director who clearly understands the genre and where it should focus on. The sound design is great, and the cinematography is much better and more evocative than your average horror release.
Film critic. Lover of all things horror. Member of the OFCS. RT Approved Critic.
