Posies
Directed by Rachel Stavis and Katherine Fisher
Written by Rachel Stavis
Starring: Anna Diop and Andy Favreau
Runtime: 15 min
Streams on Alter on October 10

by Tina Kakadelis, Staff Writer

The world of Rachel Stavis and Katherine Fisher’s short film Posies does not feel too far from our own. Maddy (Anna Diop) is sitting at her vanity as voices on the television drone on. They’re talking about how flawed humanity is and the people in power who are abusing their social standings. Anyone who has turned on the television in the past few days (or months or years or decades) have heard a similar debate waging. Is society experiencing its inevitable decline? Is it because humans are inherently monsters?

Posies immerses audiences in a world where humans are monsters both literally and figuratively. For no reason that is given to the audience (nor is one needed), humans are inexplicably turning into monsters. Maddy is one of those people. Cuts are appearing all over her body as though there is something within her that is desperate to break free. In an attempt to keep this transformation hidden, she tucks flower petals into her skin. Of course, a band-aid, even one as pretty as a flower petal, can only work for so long.

For its short runtime, Posies creates such a dark, intriguing world that envelops the audience. The style of the film is a little film noirish, but with these multicolored swashes of light. The film never establishes where it’s located, but it exudes the feeling of New Orleans with old Victorian style pieces of furniture and architecture. Accompanying the visuals is Chapell Roan’s first film score. She has become a household name in the last few months with songs like “Pink Pony Club” and “HOT TO GO,” but Posies uses one of her older songs, “Bitter.” It plays out of an old phonograph, distorted, ethereal, and feeling like it doesn’t belong in time. All of these attributes paint Posies as this slightly off-kilter world that is as intriguing as it is a little unnerving.

Perhaps the Posies’ entire thesis can be summed up by the lyrics of Roan’s song: “I love being bitter, it makes me feel better. Bitter feels better than trying to get better.” It is so much easier to stew in depression, hatred, and anger than to claw your way back out. Yet, it is this burying and wallowing that will ruin you. We rot inside when we do things we’re ashamed of. When we try to hide what we regret, we break our backs trying to conceal it to the detriment of our own health. Posies is a nasty little body horror flick with its sights set on the world at large.