SXSW 2023 – EYESTRING follows the short but sweet story of reclusive Veronica (Alena Chinault). She stays away from people in general, instead finding solace in phone therapy. As she is chatting to her therapist over the phone one day she feels something in her eye. Leaning into a mirror she discovers a black thread dangling from her tear duct. Abruptly her phone session ends and Veronica is literally left dangling. Written by  Alena Chinault  and Javier Devitt and directed by Devitt, this wince-inducing body horror short is just what the optician ordered.

At first, Veronica attempts to ignore the string dangling from her eye but that doesn’t last long. Attempting to reconnect with her randomized therapist through her therapy service she is met with nothing but roadblocks. It is only when she happens upon the offices of her detached therapists that things get hairy.

Devitt and Chinault‘s efficient little short is a bitter commentary on the cold machine that is the mental health system in America. Left to her own devices Veronica must deal with the inescapable fact that a string dangles from her face. There are definitely echoes of Cronenberg here as the short makes its way to an abrupt end. Check this one out and make sure to bring the Visine.

7 Out of 10