Ouch!

For some people, extreme pain is something to observe at a distance in horror films. For others, it’s part of day to day life. Screened as part of Fantasia 2024, Zach Kornfeld’s witty, spirited short uses the tropes of the horror genre to explore the experience of living with chronic illness.

Kornfeld has ankylosing spondylitis, as does his alter ego in the film. The difference is that here we can see what it’s doing to him, at least by analogy. On a quiet day at the office, there are knives sticking into his leg. A colleague asks if he’s tried yoga. Elsewhere he is beaten with cricket bats whilst trying to smile and make small talk and not spoil anybody else’s day. One form of torture after another presents itself, with the people around him remaining oblivious. This includes doctors, whose clueless questions will be all too familiar to viewers facing similar issues. They just don’t live in the same world.

How does one cope, emotionally, with this kind of experience? We see our hero’s exhaustion, his desire to sleep until it’s over, but even in sleep there can be torment. He briefly indulges in the fantasy of having other people experience torture too, so that at least they might stop with the stupid remarks. The isolating effect of pain isn’t easy to resolve – but perhaps there is someone who can understand. Down in the basement is a shambling black monster, huge and spiky and vicious. He’s been afraid of it for a long time, but it might be time for them to try and communicate.

Best known for series The Try Guys, Kornfeld has a strong sense for the rhythms of this kind of comedy, and deploys them to great effect. A bright colour palette and crisp cinematography abruptly gives way to hellish visions which are funny by contrast without losing their power to disturb. It’s a simple idea, but well realised.