Alexander Deeds’s “Butterscotch” packs an exceptionally satisfying punch not only because it delivers an unusual, unpredictable, and creepy scenario that unfolds between two compelling characters in a well-rendered world, but also because it does so in just a little more than seven minutes.
The first shot announces the film’s careful color coordination, showing hands in light blue gloves extending from darker blue sleeves. The hands rest on a light blue surface and frame a wrapped, butterscotch-yellow candy. The hands belong to a character named “Old Man” (Chad Sommer) in the credits; well-dressed in a blue outfit, he sits with the candy on his blanket-covered lap in a well-furnished room of a nursing home where a TV shows a black-and-white movie that, due to what appears to be catatonia, he looks toward but does not actually seem to see. The Old Man looks dignified yet pitiable.
The room’s paint and furniture offer more blues to coordinate with the Old Man’s apparel, and soon a child, credited as “Bully” (Reid Mcconville) enters wearing the same blue palette and a visitor tag. The Bully’s red hair, like the yellow candy, contrasts with all the blues: the primary colors of the costumes, set dressing, make-up, props, and cinematography are telling us something.
The story takes off when the Bully starts to, well, bully the Old Man. Using virtually no dialogue, the film uses the actors’ performances, nonverbal sounds, and music to build the relationship between them. The Bully makes faces at the Old Man, wads up and throws his nametag at him, approaches him, and sticks his tongue out at him, seeming to get no reaction at all. The Bully’s behavior is atrocious, repulsive, and it’s all the more cringeworthy because Megan Pham’s cinematography is generous with close-ups and extreme close-ups. He’s a brat who needs an adult to stop him from picking on a helpless old man.
The situation changes, however, and the characters get new dimensions when the Bully steals the Old Man’s candy. Loud crunching fills the soundtrack, and the boy returns to his chair opposite the Old Man. Suddenly, the Old Man looks toward him and seems to mimic his obnoxiousness. After that, things get scary.
Expert cutting in shot-reverse and other patterns (editing also by Alexander Deeds) builds tension as images convey that the Bully is not in the position of power he thought he was, and the Old Man is not what he initially seemed. The close camerawork shows fear in the boy’s eyes, and a sound equivalent—his heavy breathing—communicates fear overtaking his body. He might be obnoxious, but he’s just a kid, and he’s vulnerable. Music bolsters dread and assists with at least one jump scare as the situation becomes more twisted. Sound and image transform the initially placid blue world of the nursing home into a nightmare.
You have to see what happens for yourself, but it’s delightfully weird and pleasantly chilling, with an ending that is nothing shy of perfect. In both concept and execution, “Butterscotch” is an excellent film, a model for anyone who doubts that a stylish, unique, and thrilling horror story can come in a very small wrapper.
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L. Andrew Cooper, Ph.D.
https://landrewcooper.com