Since arriving on the scene with his 2015 debut They Look Like People, Perry Blackshear has established himself as one of the more emotionally intelligent indie filmmakers currently working in the genre space. That debut film and its followup, 2019’s The Siren, were both written and directed by Blackshear and produced by him along with the films’ stars MacLeod Andrews and Evan Dumouchel; an indicator of the kind of intimate production and storytelling that the films have benefited from.

Blackshear certainly isn’t the first to portray and explore dark personal issues through the lens of horror and thrillers, but his films contain an exceptionally earnest and refreshingly honest understanding of said issues. Loneliness, depression, nihilism, and dissociation are but a few of the issues Blackshear’s characters deal with at the same time they’re grappling with literal monsters. They often end up being one and the same.

His latest film, When I Consume You, continues along the same lines and tackles similar themes in what is likely Blackshear’s most direct confrontation with the sadness and the demons of everyday life. It is both his darkest (figuratively and literally, with almost the entirety of it taking place in the middle of the night) and also his most hopeful; a deep look into the abyss of fear and hopelessness that often threatens to swallow (or consume) us whole, and a denouement that offers a shimmer of light and says life may be worth suffering through anyway.

The film centers on brother and sister Wilson (Dumouchel) and Daphne Shaw (Libby Ewing, who also receives a producing credit). The siblings are seemingly inseparable, having gone through the wringer of childhood abuse and neglect with no one to rely on but each other. Wilson, the older of the two, is a bit cowardly in the passive sort of sense but has a kind and caring heart. Daphne is the fighter, someone who’s learned the hard way to take no shit. Both want to use their rough upbringing as a catalyst for good - Wilson has dreams of becoming a teacher despite having little education himself, while Daphne hopes to become a mother through adoption and raise her child with the kind of love and protection she never had the luxury of.

Unbeknownst to Wilson, his sister has been quietly dealing with a persistent and dangerous stalker of sorts (Andrews). Daphne is used to keeping secrets (like her previously hidden drug habit) but the stalker crosses over into Wilson’s world after a devastating incident that changes things forever. The two siblings are thrown into a waking nightmare and forced on a mission to settle the score with their mysterious enemy once and for all.

Blackshear’s films can be considered slowburns, and When I Consume You initially feels the same until the inciting incident occurs and turns the film into a thriller with momentum. But the buildup is still essential, properly taking the time to establish the unforgiving world that Wilson and Daphne live in. It’s only fitting that the film is set during the winter in the cold indifference of the city, one largely devoid of the lively greens of nature. Life is cruel here, not merely for the Shaw siblings but seemingly for everyone; a mood, a feeling, and an outlook that the film captures with poignant clarity.

Once things get going, Blackshear’s film becomes unapologetically steeped in the fun of genre thrills. Where They Look Like People offered psychological horror where the lines of what’s real and what’s not become blurred, and The Siren examined melancholic romance in the context of an aquatic monster tale, When I Consume You is a surprisingly action-packed thriller with a supernatural twist. Originality is still alive and well in these stories, even if the particular metaphor this time around ends up being Blackshear’s most obvious. It’s nice to see a filmmaker, especially one that’s established a unique style and philosophy all his own with only three films, continuously try new things with each one. It’s all the more impressive that the three hold similar themes despite being drastically different concepts.

I’ve found Blackshear’s films to be particularly moving for a depressed doomer like myself. When I Consume You feels like the cap to an unofficial trilogy, with ideas that hit much harder both in the wake of the pandemic and with growing up in general. There are no easy answers, something that this film seems to understand far better than most. It's all the better for it.

'When I Consume You' is now available on digital. See all available platforms HERE