Indie Film Podcast Review: Pretty

After contact with the ghost of a murdered young girl, Pretty becomes obsessed with uncovering what happened. But as strange occurrences plague her home, she finds herself in a twisted game of love, murder, and jealousy.

Written by Victoria Horn.

Can This Zero-Budget Horror Film Replace The Room?

Pretty by Metecan Duren is a two hour and three minute indie feature horror film about a lonely young woman, aptly named Pretty (Melisa Kihtir), as she grapples with the supernatural events growing around her. Set in the fictional town of Polfield, Turkey, Pretty and her 19-year-old sister Emma (Saran Duren) are left alone while their parents are away in Moscow, reportedly stuck in a snowstorm, dealing with what feels like typical sisterly bickering over jealousy and boys. Pretty is then drawn to a ghostly voice emanating from a nearby house, while dark figures with masks and rabbit heads begin to haunt her dreams and waking moments alike.

https://youtu.be/7SIc25PpqrE

As the story continues, we realize older sister Emma is the primary caretaker, often frustrated with Pretty’s lack of initiative and self-sufficiency, while Pretty continues to build a relationship with an online mystery man via Instagram. Eventually joined by their cousins, Ivy (Iclal Aykac) and Lea (Kayra Dogan), tensions in the house build while tragedy continues to strike the family. Meanwhile, Pretty is too enamored with the attention from her online beau and new ghost friend to be truly present for her family. In classic horror film fashion, things escalate to a bloody slasher home intrusion scenario, all while a mythical and supernatural legend comes to fruition.

If that sounds like a lot, I assure you it is, but somehow the watch time for this film doesn’t exactly fly by. In my best efforts to give a valuable and fully informed review, I think there is one point of clarification I’d like to make very early on.

Pretty is a masterclass in low-budget indie film. Metecan Duren is the only crew for this film. At only 19-years-old, he wrote, directed, shot, produced, edited, and composed this entire feature. While the performances are stilted and uncomfortable at times, it’s unanimously present in every character, making it feel more like an intentional direction and style for the film. At many times in the film, it’s clear there’s only one key light available, and yet the cinematography still finds moments of unique shape and shadow that add depth and intrigue to the winding plot. The cinematography itself may not take risks, but I am usually confident in where everyone is and the general layout of the space, and despite the YouTube compression on the version I watched, it’s a far cry from the grainy “camcorder” expectations I had when hearing this was a teenager’s first feature. And most notably, there are many text messaging conversations in this film, and unlike nearly every major Hollywood blockbuster out there: I can actually read every single message! Whether or not I wanted or needed to is beside the point. It’s a personal pet peeve of mine, and I appreciate that the camera focus was clear, the phone was the majority of the screen, and no messages were lost.

That caveat aside, I do think it’s important to treat this film review as any other and call out the many glaring missteps that pulled me out of the story. The first being the script. While the story was a fun and enticing mix of supernatural and tension (with a few jump scares that did actually startle me) the script itself could have used a trim and polish. There are many scenes of languishing expository dialogue, paired with boldly decided four-minute+ static reaction shots, and a lot of missed opportunities to “show not tell”. There are a few bold and creative cinematographic choices (cutting to full black for more than 10 seconds on multiple occasions, flashes of sequined modeling sequences that have no relevance to the plot, excruciatingly long text message sequences, and repetitive use of a stock footage night sky as b-roll, etc.) that I still can’t decide if they were stylized and intentional, or just added out of desperation.

While the story was a fun and enticing mix of supernatural and tension, the script itself could have used a trim and polish.

As with most “micro-budget” films, the art department took a hit during Pretty. The primary residence used during filming is beautiful, but is blatantly Duren’s childhood home. Not just because the sprawling, multi-story compound and courtyard used for filming would have likely been out of budget range, but because we can clearly see Duren’s childhood photos and past film awards hanging on the walls of what should be a teenage girl’s bedroom. While this is an additional win that the film was in focus, it also shows either a lack of attention to detail or sheer laziness while filming. Other small inconsistencies and continuity fractures continue to remind me “I’m watching a movie”, such as:

• Up to six wardrobe changes in a single day, some of them completely inexplicable, while others appear to just be mistakes in remembering which coat the lead character was wearing.

• Typing names and locations into phones in character, while autocorrect on the phone wants to fill in the actress’s actual name.

• An entire scene where Emma appears to be reading her lines off of her phone.

• And a complete lack of location sound in nearly every scene, with only occasionally believable ADR to fill it back in.

Indie Film Podcast Recommends: Wait ‘Til It’s Free!

Unlike The Room, often lauded for being the “best bad film”, I would love to see a movie like Pretty replace it in the annals of internet meme-dom. Not because I think Pretty is as bad as The Room (Pretty is objectively better) but because Pretty shows the absurdist realities and loosely tied supernatural essences of classic b-horror, mixed with an almost arthouse, esoteric style of slow cinema, all done with what might be intention. Picking out the standout redeemable moments in the film do make it an entertaining way to pass two hours, and I assure you, the performances will leave a lasting impression. On the plus side, this film is readily available for free, streaming on YouTube for anyone ready to dive into the lore and bloodshed that is Pretty.

Watch Pretty now—available free here!