Up Under the Stairs and Dark Imaginations: A Short Film Review

Writers: Darin Read, Danielle Stallings, and Manly Wade Wellman.

Up Under the Roof is a Dread Films Ltd. production of twenty-one minutes, which incorporates a ghost story in to the imagination of a lonely young boy. The film has been on the film festival circuit for two years now with stops at the Newport Beach Film Festival and the Dances with Films Film Festival in 2010. Up Under the Roof will make another stop at the Waterfront Film Festival June 13th and centrally this short period piece is about facing one's fears, whether you are ten years old or an adult, in a short time frame, while showing the positivity of dreams.

The film takes place on a "depression-era farm" in the 1920's where there has been no rain for "one hundred and seven days" (Up Under the Roof). With very little farming to take part in, a pre-adolescent boy uses his imagination to occupy his time and in turn creates some internal dark images that are externalized in the perception of creaking timbers and dripping water. However, support from a fearless young girl shows this young man that while fear is a powerful force this feeling is there to teach and not simply to terrorize or distract (motivate).

This is Darin Read's first film as a director and a personal one. Read shares some early childhood experiences of an "asthma-induced nightmare," of which children are especially prone to, in a story taken from Manly Wade Wellman's short (Up Under the Roof). The film also delves into the darkness of the subconscious where early childhood experiences can manifest themselves later in life.

The film is quaint, small and simple in structure with few scares, but the film takes hold through a gentle third person narration and a sparsely dialogued story that builds tension through the use of the viewer's imagination. Noises are amplified for effect to create uncertainty and the film's climax while slightly flat is countered by a positive message about holding on to one's dreams. This film's budget was tight, shot with a 35mm camera, and for those looking to reminisce about the past or early childhood experiences then this will be a feature which can take you there in a slightly thrilling fashion.

Currently, the film is only available on the film festival circuit, but if the reception is positive then surely this film or Read's next will be shown as a feature length film. Up Under the Roof knows its own limits and works within them. The result is an excellent examination of the universality of fears and how to manifest them into positive action. See this film June 13th at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, MI next week and then prepare for Read's unique take on the timeless ghost stories of the past.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10.

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The Official Website for UUTR