Written By: Ryan Dailey
The Vance Institute draws inspiration from films like Saw and Midsommar and presents it through a lens that could have been held by Hitchcock or Argento.
In The Vance Institute, a group of emotionally fragile individuals seek self-help from the titular foundation only to be faced with a series of challenges that force them to face what made them who they are or die.
Director Lawrie Brewster and writers David Josh Lawrence and Tom Malloy provide accurate representations of various mental illnesses, for the most part, only sometimes do the performances present them in a bit of an over the top fashion. That is not to say that the acting is sub par, quite the opposite. The cast is led by Hannah New of Black Sails fame and each performer brings so much to the table in terms of giving the audience characters that one can become invested in during the course of their stay at the institute.
The film does so much with so little and makes it work. The violence is implied or shown in wide shots, leaving the viewer’s imagination to fill in the blanks. This method of portraying violence, coupled with the black and white aesthetic, proves to be a powerful way to get the story across.
The Vance Institute does not do anything new or exhibit any qualities that makes it stand out from other fare out there looking to take up your time, but the film is solid.
Fans of independent film will want to keep an eye on the projects coming out of Hex Media.
The Vance Institute is out now and available to purchase from https://www.hexstudios.shop/product-page/the-vance-institute
Watch the Official Trailer here https://youtu.be/JP1xHrtUerk