While 2023 has been another banner year for overpriced blockbusters serving up more of the same, the horror genre again proves itself as a go-to for seeing something different. Talk To Me, No One Will Save You, Beau is Afraid, even the second attempt at an Evil Dead reboot with Evil Dead Rise felt fresh and full of new ideas. I’m not entirely sure what Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool was about, but I know it left me feeling uncomfortable and haunted my dreams.
Adding to that list of wildly inventive horrors of 2023 is writer/director Amanda Kramer’s 80s set psychedelic Give Me Pity! Sophie von Haselberg (Irrational Man, American Crime Story) stars as Sissy St. Claire, an entertainer about to make her small-screen debut in a not to be missed Television Special. A night that was going to be filled with laughter, music, and family-friendly entertainment descends into a kaleidoscopic nightmare live on a Saturday night TV special.
Sissy’s live event quickly begins to curdle into a psychedelic horror show of vanity, insecurity and delusional ambition provoked by the glowering presence of a mysterious masked man. Shot over five days during the pandemic, Give Me Pity will be released on demand and in selected cinemas on November 10. There will be a special preview of the film on October 29, which includes a Q&A with Sophie von Haselberg; for more details on the event or to book tickets, check out the ICA site here.
