Fantasia International Film Festival 2023 – Writer/director Noomi Yates makes everyday settings, like a street corner or alleyway, totally terrifying and uncanny in her short Only Yourself to Blame. Executive produced by Saint Maud director Rose Glass, the film is an unnerving bit of psychological horror, a manifestation of a young woman’s fears.

The short begins as the protagonist Mai (Severine Simone) bids her friend Sian (Megan Purvis) goodbye after a night of drinking. Yet, Mai texts her friend to ensure she arrives home okay. In this work, even the gaze of Sian’s taxi driver feels threatening. Meanwhile, when Mai walks home, she encounters a hooded figure in an alley who copies her every move and looks just like her, except for creepy black eyes. The film blends psychological and body horror in seamless fashion, making for a hairraising nine minutes.

Yet, there’s something much deeper occurring here. Mai continually has flashbacks of a party. Filling in her fractured memories, it appears sexual assault happened to either Mai or Sian, hence Mai’s justified worries, which are shown through the figure that chases her. This makes for an incredibly nail-biting ride where everything feels dangerous, be it men talking on the street or the figure that chases her, a memory that she can’t quite shake. She blames herself for what transpired and battles that guilt. Meanwhile, Simone totally sells the film’s terrors. You can almost feel how panicked and nerve-rattled her character feels. Simone certainly brings the emotion to her performance.

It’s not surprising that this short received Glass’ support. Yates is a talented director who captures a woman’s justified anxieties and makes a horror show out of familiar urban settings. This is a tense and gripping nine minutes.

8 Out of 10