Now Showing: The Essence

 

The Essence

Genre: Horror/Drama

Director: Ari Aster

Writer: Jimmy Ellis

Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Willem Dafoe, Maude Apatow, Daniela Melchior, Lee Pace, RJ Cyler, Lauren Ridloff

Plot: Eye's heavy, consciousness disconnecting and heart pounding; "I'm sorry Ruby, I just think I'm better off alone now." Nolan (Kelvin Harrison Jr) was troubled. He'd begun hearing a voice. A smokey lull that was enticing yet terrifying. The Essence (Willem Dafoe). Ruby's (Maude Apatow) lip trembles as she struggles to find words. Ruby had known Nolan since high school. They were close. Not as close as Ruby thought though. She left the wall of the 7/11 they sat trading stories and cigarettes on. Ruby held back the tears the best she could, but as soon as she arrived home, she crumbled, struggling through a restless night. Nolan hated himself in that moment. He lights another cigarette when his eyes roll into the back of his head, visions of a field of sunflowers where a woman stands, smiling with a charm that was alluring. Then The Essence arrived. The first time Nolan had seen him. A designer black suit and smoke that drifted off his body, as if carrying the smaug of a graveyard with every step. The Essence turns towards Nolan, his walk subtly exaggerated as he smiles his crooked smile. "Nolan? What is going on in this wicked and wonderful mind of yours?" Nolan stands up and pulls up his jacket, heading home. Very dark thoughts rising to the surface. After all, Nolan was troubled.

An eternal clock ticks and tocks, only itself knowing when it will stop. The swoop of its hands ending lives, over and over again.

The next day, Nolan sits inside the office of Dr. Grace. A soft smile emerges from her as Nolan takes his seat, putting himself at ease for the first time in some while. The two begin to communicate through sign language, Dr. Grace keeping watch as Nolan began to show signs of breaking, be it with joy or sadness, keeping notes along the way while reassuring him with a calm grin. Regardless of when these bursts happened however, Dr Grace would sit there, seemingly unfazed with the softest, soothing smile. They talked about Nolan's family often. The passing of his mother at birth and the untimely passing of his father a year ago. That's when The Essence started to creep in. It started with smokey swirls and calling out before developing into the presence it was today. As Nolan leaves, Dr Grace reminds him that he is loved, and if he ever needs her, she is just a facetime away, seeing as she can't hear she jokes.

Nolan felt good after this returning home to his childhood best friend Teddy (RJ Cyler). Teddy knew tech better than anyone Nolan knew. He also knew getting high better than anyone Nolan knew. Today, Teddy was focusing on the latter, but nonetheless, was welcome company. "He wouldn't even notice" grimaces The Essence as a shroud fills the room only for Nolan to see. "The hands of time wait for no mortal Nolan...besides, do you really want to leave destiny waiting?" Nolan burst out of the home, running and running until he is caught in the headlights of a car that narrowly swerves as he falls on his backside. Nolan can see a spectrum of colours he had never seen before in the sky that somehow felt far too familiar when he finds a figure standing over him; "Are you okay?

Sophia (Daniela Melchior). Soft lips, enticing arms and a caressing charm. She was also Nolan's ex girlfriend. They sat in a diner that definitely served booze based purely on the whiff that hit Nolan and Sophia as soon as they entered. They talked, six months removed from their break up, a year from Nolan's father's death. That second thought begins to race, pulsate, darken the surroundings as Nolan's breathing feels dry; "I did it...and there's nothing you can do about it. You let this happen." Nolan looks up, care and worry, behind the eyes of Sophia. She reaches out, taking Nolan's hand; Why did he let her go? Before Nolan can ponder this aloud, a stiff stench of coffee and whiskey walks on by in the form of a tall and rough looking man; Detective Hurt (Lee Pace). Hurt was there the night Nolan's dad died. Hurt looked back at Nolan as he lit a cigarette, a void behind his eyes. "Are you okay?" Nolan turns to Sophia, their grips tightening in each others hands; "Can I stay with you tonight?"

Ruby arrives at Nolan's apartment, looking to reconcile and garner assurance they were still friends. The door was unlocked and Ruby slowly enters, the sound of a disturbing gurgling making the hair on her arms raise when she sees a mauled Teddy in his dying moments, her hands clasping over her mouth as she runs to be by his side. Teddy smiles and mutters some whimsy as he begins to weep. "Did...did Nolan do this!?" Teddy puts his hand on Ruby's face but before he can reply, he passes. Ruby makes a call; "911? I think there's been a murder..."

Detective Hurt stands, unfazed, looking at the mutilated corpse of Teddy. Hurt pulls out another cigarette, lighting up as he scans the room before coming to a picture of Nolan and Teddy. Hurt picks it up and sees flashes back to a year ago, when he confronted Nolan's father on a stormy night next to a trio of mangled bodies. He looked terrified. He begged Hurt to stop anyone else getting hurt. Hurt fulfilled his wish, but swore he saw something depart Nolan's father's vessel. That’s when Nolan started to change. When he begun having to try his head above the waters of his dark thoughts.

Nolan wakes up, his head in a fog when Sophia comes and joins him, Nolan thanking her for letting him crash on her couch. "I don't mind. I just want you to be okay." Nolan and Sophia’s eyes lock. Sophia smiles when the spectrum of colours Nolan had seen the other night begin to exist in Sophia's eyes. He puts his hand on her face when he finds himself in The Sunflower Fields again. Nolan sees the woman again, and for a moment thinks it may be Sophia until he gets closer and she turns around; "Nolan...I've been looking for you. Let me save you and then, you can finally embrace destiny." Darkness suddenly slams, Nolan unable to breath as he falls through an empty void, arms flailing as The Essence emerges, a behemoth with vile yellow eyes and his teeth gritted with violent intentions; "I AM YOUR DESTINY BOY! EMBRACE ME JUST AS YOUR FATHER DID BEFORE!" Nolan reconnects to reality(?) finding Sophia over him with his head in her hands, body trembling. Sophia pulls him in and hugs him tight; "You scared me Nolan. Don't go, please stay." Nolan nods as things still feel fuzzy when for a moment he believes he sees The Essence in the corner of the room only for he and Sophia to have their attention taken to the door. Sophia opens up; It's Ruby; "Nolan...What did you do?" Sophia turns to Nolan with confusion. Pieces connect. "You met me at a very strange time in my life."

Dr Grace packs away for the evening as rain lightly hits against the window, unaware of Detective Hurt entering. Hurt walks around for a moment, taking a seat, scanning Dr Grace who is naturally startled. Dr Grace stumbles as Detective Hurt stands over her. "Where is he?" asks the whisky scorched breath of Hurt as Dr Grace squirms, struggling to sign when Hurt tightly grabs her hands; "Don't waste my time. Write it down."

Nolan, Sophia and Ruby make their way to a train where Nolan fills them in on his frail state of mind over the last year. The trio stop as the rain only gets heavier and heavier, thunder rumbling. Sophia and Ruby are as supportive as they can be despite the plethora of information dumped on them. Sophia takes Nolan's hand and tells him everything will be okay. Ruby smiles and hugs Nolan, the two look into each other’s eyes, Nolan looking for the colours he had seen in Sophia's eyes but saw nothing but the blue that had always been. But Ruby saw something in Nolan's eyes; The unhinged jaws of an acid eyed demon looking to feast. Ruby is taken back and heads to the bathroom. Sophia takes Nolan's hand before heading to the bathroom to check on Ruby. Sophia enters, lights flickering, cold air coming off her breathe. That's when Sophia sees Ruby; Bloody and half inside a cubicle where it looked like a one sided fight had taken place. Ruby looks up as the colour in her eyes had dimmed; "Save yourselves." Ruby's head is suddenly clamped down on by a talon as she is snapped in two and dragged into the stall as blood sprayed out! Nolan hears the scream of Sophia and tries to run towards it only to eat a violent punch to the gut that sends him to the floor, Detective Hurt standing over him with a snarl; "You’re coming with me."

The storm outside had grown violent. Detective Hurt and Nolan sit in a interrogation room where an exhausted Nolan just wants everything to end. Hurt bares no sympathy. "Runs in the family, huh? Dad was a killer, mom was a killer-" Nolan's head shoots up, confusion and conflict; "What?!"

Sophia sits in the police station, shaken by what she had seen, very aware she was the only one seeing the lights flickering before a voice reaches out; "You’re next..." Sophia watches as a gross cop passes by, grabbing his gun and knocking him down with a pistol whip! Hurt's patience only thins as Nolan struggles to process that his mother was also a murderer. A memory appears; Nolan was three and barely awake as his mother entered covered in blood. She kisses Nolan's forehead and tells him she loves him before blowing her own brains out, Nolan's father bursts in, holding her in tears. Something changed in Nolan's father that night. It only took him twenty years to remember.

The lights suddenly cut out and a panicked Hurt draws his gun and asks Nolan what he's done when a shadow suddenly takes form of The Essence Nolan had known for far too long! Hurt looks in horror as Sophia bursts in, taking shots at The Essence, wounding it, leaving it to screech in pain! Nolan and Sophia run as Hurt looks up at The Essence as it whines in agony. Hurt is drawn to it as The Essence mutters its last words; "Over and over, stronger and stronger."

Nolan and Sophia arrive at the train station where they quickly stow away on a train, leaving a blur of red and blue behind them. "Where are we going?"

The Sunflower Fields. It was beautiful. Sophia was in wonder as Nolan pushed forward. This was the last place he'd go with his father. As the sun rises, Nolan smiles and Sophia takes his hand as they walk into the Sunflower Fields.