Short Film Review: “Zmiena”

Dir: Pierre Renverseau
France • Horror • 13 Mins

Deep in the woods, in the middle of autumn at dawn, among the rustling of the trees sits an isolated house. Within the house, in a decrepit room lies Greg, who slowly and painfully transforms into a hideous and terrifying beast. 

Other than the knowledge that Zmiena (meaning change) was inspired by Franz Kafka’s classic short story “The Metamorphosis“,  there’s very little by way of explanation for anything that happens within the film. Sporadically interspersed into Greg’s tortured transformation, we catch glimpses of him alone in the forest clutching a gun, kitted out in army fatigues, running for his life. Whether these are flashbacks and Greg is suffering from PTSD, or if the images are more metaphorical is left up to the viewer’s interpretation, but either way, Greg is in the midst of a battle with himself. 

Whether traumatised from fighting in a war, disgusted with what he may have done and depicting himself in his mind’s eye as a disfigured creature, or literally turning into a hideous monster, Greg is in severe mental and physical pain and as hard as it is to watch, it’s even harder to look away.

You feel every ounce of Greg’s pain through Rurik Sallé’s tremendous and intense performance as we witness the harrowing ordeal that he’s going through. The practical effects and prosthetics for Greg’s mutation by Jacques-Olivier Molon are stunning and of such exceptional quality, they’re like something you’d expect to see on a show like The Walking Dead and keep you transfixed and intrigued by what is happening to poor Greg.

Jeff Lesselier’s cinematography is beautiful yet haunting and combined with some fantastic editing from Jérémy Leflamand creates a surreal and unsettling atmosphere. The unnerving musical accompaniment, composed by actor Rurik Sallé, working in unison with the sound design creates more of a soundscape for the film than forming a traditional score. This transformative, evolving use of sound works brilliantly for the subject matter and perfectly enhances the creepy and oppressive nature of the film.

Writer/director Pierre Renverseau has created a disturbing, surreal and oddly beautiful short film that’s exceptionally well-crafted and full of intrigue that’s as uncomfortable as it is fascinating to watch.

9/10

Zmiena was nominated for Best Horror and Best Sound at our 2022 film festival.

Reviewed by Philip Pugh