Charon 2021 Review Horrible Imaginings Fest

Created by Jennifer Zhang, Charon is a film that was made while in lockdown. The drama movie has a similar vibe to films that are trending in recent years, like Searching, #BlueWhale, and Profile. Charon is a single-location effort made in front of a laptop. The narrative unfolds extremely slowly with Charon under house arrest, wearing an ankle monitor, and reliant on her boyfriend Jerry who calls her regularly on Facetime.

With only two characters to rely on, keeping the audience in the dark works to create an atmosphere of tension and dread. In Charon, performances are so evenly laid out, that even before the finite details are presented to us, it’s easy to see which direction this was heading for early on. The fact that the storyline is so predictable one could only hope for some thrilling misadventures to make their way onto the screen. Unfortunately, almost all of the runtime is spent immersing in conversations between Charon and Jerry that don’t add up.

Movies That Explore Isolation

When Charon receives a death threat and discusses it with her beloved boyfriend Jerry, he begins harassing her about her attitude. When she isn’t in the mood to undress for him, he hangs up. And when he says he is out of money to support her but some random wants her to stick her hand in the garbage disposal for $10k she does it.

Charon is an internet hacker. We are never told exactly what the circumstances were that ended with her being locked inside her own house. She has no access to the outside world, which seemingly includes a telephone and according to Jerry, everyone hates her. With so little connection to anything outside her bubble aside from her three bunnies, when Jerry’s conversations lead into gaslighting, vagueness, and an inability to tell her anything about anything, the idea of realism fades. Instead, this woman’s situation simply gave rise to knowing exactly how this would all play out.

Movies Made on an iPhone 8, Charon

What worked in Charon was the idea of her character. In a very revealing moment, it’s alluded to her being the type of hacker at the helm of a film like Searching. The people on the other side of the computer create mischief. However, so little is explained as to her actual crime, I could only guess that this was what she was locked up for. Charon however, was shown to love her bunnies and exercise like a woman in control. The showdown was well orchestrated and knowing that Zhang worked on every aspect of the filmmaking process was impressive. Not only that but the entire project was made using an iPhone 8 Plus and had no budget.

In comparison to other independent feature films made in the same way, the result is a polished and watchable movie. Flying Koi Entertainment and Avatar Entertainment are handling the distribution. Keep an eye out for release details on Mother of Movies. Charon was screened virtually at the Horrible Imaginings Film Festival. It was released to the internet in the USA in 2023.

I give Charon

2.5 asshat boyfriends out of 5

Charon 2021 was released in the USA and is streaming on Apple+ as a rental. It’s also streaming on Plex.

Mother of Movies score