Parents Beware
Since I’ve become a parent, certain films are difficult for me to watch. Whenever the story involves something bad happening to children, my anxiety levels go through the roof. The Babadook really got under my skin and today I watched Zack Parker’s Proxy, which takes the loss of a child to completely different place.
Esther (Alexia Rasmussen, The Comedy, Our Idiot Brother) is attacked in her ninth month of pregnancy and loses her baby. At a support group, she becomes friends with Melanie (Alexa Havins, Torchwood, The Astronaut’s Wives Club) who recently lost her son and husband to a drunk driver. They form a bond that comes into question when Esther discovers Melanie hasn’t been telling the whole truth.
Proxy is a psychological rollercoaster. I didn’t know what to expect and the entire film kept me guessing as to what the fuck was really going on. Right up until the very end. Each character had a dark part of their personality that slowly trickled out as situations pushed them to their limits. Even in the brief moments of calm there was an air of uncertainty that made it all the more unsettling.
Disturbing enough for all fans of slow burning psychological horror, with an added punch for those of us with kids of our own. Highly recommended.
Availability: Netflix US, Netflix Canada
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