I watched Broken Bird, the opening night film of Frightfest London 2024 and it was a quirky, unnerving delight

• “Broken Bird” opened this year’s Pigeon Shrine FrightFest London overnight (August 22 2024)
• The film, starring Rebecca Calder and Jay Taylor, is set for a theatrical release in UK cinemas from August 30 2024.
• Benjamin Jackson got a chance to watch the movie - does he think the UK horror is worth your time?

Opening this year’s Pigeon Shrine FrightFest London overnight, Joanne Mitchell’s directorial debut, “Broken Bird,” is an interesting debut from the longtime FrightFest actress.

The film, adapted from Tracey Sheals 2018 short “Sybil,” sees the titular character (played by “House of the Dragon” actress Rebecca Calder) assume a Walter Mitty type role; we, the viewer, are unsure at the beginning if what we’re seeing is indeed reality, or as we later find out, the whimsical, if not dangerous, flights-of-fantasy from an unreliable narrator. 

Sybil works as a professional mortician at a funeral parlour, with its proprietor (played wonderfully by James Fleet) relieved that such an astute mortician has come to save his business. But beneath his friendly, welcoming exterior lies a dark secret - one locked away in a room within the funeral parlour itself. 

Sybil’s imagination runs rampant, as she meets museum curator Mark (Jay Taylor) who she immediately begins to daydream about dating, the meet-cute in the museum moving into delusional territory. Mark happens to already be seeing someone, which leaves Sybil bitter.

With it - the movie takes quite the turn. What was initially starting to feel like a comedy-horror in the ilk of perhaps the recent “Lisa Frankenstein” or elements of the ‘90s nanny-sploitation film “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.” 

But as Sybil’s delusions get gradually more grandeur, so do the lengths she is set to go to to make it a reality.

Calder is fantastic in her role as Sybil; initially she seems sweet, naive and just a daydreamer with romantic ideations towards her unlikely and unwilling suitor. As tragedy once again strikes her character, she develops an unhealthy attraction to a cadaver (not to spoil the movie too much), but this is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her delusions. 

There is a side plot regarding an alcoholic, embittered police officer (Sacharissa Claxton) who unknowingly has ties to Sybil after her own personal tragedy, which despite the first half of the movie does pay off eventually. But it does seem at times tacked on initially - but it plays into the film's overarching themes.

What are they? How people deal with loss. In Sybil’s case, it’s entering into her imaginary world much like the aforementioned Walter Mitty to escape the realities of her situations, including those that she brings upon herself. 

James Fleet’s character deals with his loss through a sense of denial, while Claxton’s character finds solace at the bottom of the bottle and Mark’s love interest at the time (his real love interest, by the way) deals with death in a normal, pragmatic fashion. 

Don’t let the somewhat quirky, slow burn of the first half of the film put you off though; that is part of the charm with Mitchell’s debut. It draws you in with Calder’s remarkable, almost coquette take on her character but when it takes it’s eventual turn, the tension is definitely ramped up.

It’s not without its flaws though, with seemingly three different narratives taking place at the same time. But at its crescendo, as we learn more and more about Sybil’s past life, and the unhinged yet beautifully shot finale is worth the film’s initial slow pacing. 

Broken Bird is released theatrically in cinemas across the United Kingdom from August 30 2024, including Odeon Cinemas for those who have a myLIMITLESS membership. For more details on the membership, you can visit the cinema’s official page and sign up today.