The Woman Under the Stage is a theatre person’s horror movie. Whitney (Jessica Dawn Willis) is the typical actor. Bright-eyed, open to risk, and dangerously unpredictable. As the film opens Whitney is offered the chance to audition for the role of a lifetime. Of course, this comes at a cost. The play is said to be cursed. Yes, even worse than the Scottish one. In fact, the play has never been performed publicly. After the show closes, the script will be burned, never to be seen again. Writer-director Ezekiel Decker with co-writer Logan Rinaldi weave a nightmarish tapestry of artistic endeavor and the cost therein. The Woman Under the Stage is a watchable, but wobbly feature created with an intense desire to unnerve.
You can see the Lynchian dream that Decker is chasing. The film opens with circuitous cuts, eventually revealing Whitney’s suicide attempt by way of razor. Or did that really happen? Marc Rouse‘s editing and post-work keep us sufficiently confused until Whitney has a meeting with theatre director Terrence (Matthew Tompkins). Terrance offers Whitney a part in his new, intimate production of a cursed script. Against the warnings of her boyfriend Josh (Robert Gemaehlich), Whitney accepts the lead in the mysterious production, and rehearsals begin.
At the theatre, Whitney, along with costars Phil (Phil Harrison) and Jesse (Ashley Spicer), are asked to sign NDAs and then finally read the script. It’s pretty basic Faustian stuff, but what is more alarming are the ghostly visions that haunt Whitney during production. Leading the barrage of apparitions is The Bell (April Hartman), a ghostly figure that lives under the stage. The Bell repeatedly offers Whitney eternal life in death. With the unnerving visits and visions, along with taking on a challenging role under the direction of a demanding director, it’s understandable that Whitney begins to unravel.
Credit must be given to Willis for her wide-eyed turn as Whitney. She has a lot to juggle here between real-life demons, and the artistic pursuit of truth on the stage. Spicer is also wonderful in the dual role of Jesse/Jade bringing a fresh energy to what could have been a bland role.
Aside from the notes of Lynch, I kept thinking of Aronofsky’s Black Swan during The Woman Under the Stage. This is a cerebral, dreamlike movie that breezes through both reality and fantasy without so much as a subtle visual cue or sound. The effect is at times unsettling and other times downright confusing in a bad way. What is real and what isn’t? What is a flashback and what is the current timeline? This is a very difficult trick to pull off while keeping the audience not only perplexed but mesmerized. Decker fails admirably, but he sure swings for the fences.
The Woman Under the Stage really works when it pays homage to the theatre. The sacrifices that are made, the ghosts that are born, and the space that they inhabit. Even the descent into madness and the loss of personal identity. These are given an admirable, if inconsistent tribute on the silver screen.
6 Out of 10
