Childhood trauma has long been a staple for plots in horror films. Deep seeded psychological damage from the past has spurned countless genre works from Psycho to Friday the 13th. In her feature film directorial debut, Nicole Cinaglia attempts to put her spin on this age-old tale in Porcelain. Along with screenwriters, Robbie Dias, and Hunter Johnson, Cinaglia’s film promises to take the viewer down the dark alleys of the human psyche on a path that will either lead to a freeway of peace of mind, or a terror trail from which there is no off ramp.
Elise (Nicole Cinaglia) and Caleb (Hunter Johnson) are dancing a happy waltz through life on track to starting their own family. An abrupt phone call puts a stop to the music. Interrupting their highly anticipated island vacation is the news that Elise’s estranged father has passed away. The allure of a nice payday from the sale of Elise’s childhood home pulls the couple back to Elise’s dark past. Quickly, Caleb comes to realize that his lover suffered from demons that haunted her upbringing, while Elise slowly begins to question her own sanity. The more days they spend in the house and a neighborhood cloaked in mystery, the more the once happy duo starts to separate. To save her relationship and sanity, Elise must unravel the horrors that linger behind each door of the cursed home before her subconscious causes her to spiral out of control. Truths and lies become a jumbled puzzle that the couple must piece together before the bygones of Elise’s memories tear them apart.
Porcelain is a well-crafted slow burn psychological terror train, one that starts slowly on the tracks and quickly accelerates the audience into a tunnel of eternal darkness. All of the performances are played out to perfection. Ellen Boscov gives the viewer the creeps as a neighbor that no one wants to have tea with. Joe Raffa shows dramatic range as an unexpected visitor from Elise’s past, while Angel Anthony Marrero keeps the narrative flowing with his portrayal of an aggressive real estate agent. Hunter Johnson wears several hats on the production as producer, writer, and actor. Displaying a great understanding of how to craft psychological horror. It is director Nicole Cinaglia that steals the show. Her performance as the lead is flawless as she jumps from an empathetic woman dealing with past trauma to an angry lady of darkness that is clouded in delusion. Cinaglia shows great vision with fantastic shot selection while littering several scenes with brilliant eye-catching coloring. Coupled with jump scares that will startle even the hardest of horror hounds, this director will quickly become one to watch. Porcelain is a film that takes an old genre formula and adds new spices that create a delectable meal that genre fans will eat up.
Scream Score: 8/10