Lycanthropy (2020)

‘Lycanthropy’, by Alexander Black, is an investigative thriller that delves into the horrible, dark world of child abuse by following detectives Mark Kessler and John Mills on their hunt for a missing girl. The short film starts during a home visit to interrogate the suspect: during this scene, we see the suspect mirror the actions of a wolf, the culmination of preview shots of wolves running and scowling. We’re set up to believe that we’re witnessing a predator snarling over his prey, the missing young girl.

As the film progresses, we see that Detective Kessler is in a bad place. His difficulties in finding the perpetrators of child abuse are blasted across radio stations, and he watches his own daughter with her mother and her new step-father from a distance, presumably after a devastating custody arrangement. He loses his cool in front of their suspect, and seems more occupied with revenge than justice. We witness his unravelling, seeking justice through inflicting pain.

‘Lycanthropy’ plays with the idea of what it means to be a villain, dangerous, or bad. Is it right to harm the wrong? Is justice above the law? Can darkness permeate good? By interspersing footage of wolves in the wilderness with gritty scenes set in London, the film places the idea of an animalistic hunt in our minds, yet we are left to decide who the real hunter is. Predators are drawn to vulnerability, while Kessler is drawn to justice in any form, no matter how immoral. In just fifteen minutes, ‘Lycanthropy’ manages to question human desire, the justice system and the animal instincts that reside in all of us. It’s a dark, tense and suspenseful watch that tackles a number of complex issues with power and clarity.