Appendage Interview: Director Anna Zlokovic on Her Absurdist Fairy Tale
9Existing as a woman in today’s world is no easy task. At best, it’s anxiety-inducing and a real headache, and at worst, it can be downright deadly. Sometimes, it can be both — a fact that writer-director Anna Zlokovic is keenly aware of. Her new film, Appendage, deals with that fact directly, something she calls both “stressful and cathartic” as a filmmaker, turning the effects of poor mental health from a nebulous concept most people are afraid to discuss into a creature as terrifying as any zombie or vampire could ever be. Can’t pretend your problems don’t exist when they’re chasing you, right?
The film, which started out as a short for Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween program, chronicles just what happens when mental health intersects with horror — the result being a monstrous appendage that grows out of protagonist Hannah’s (Hadley Robinson) side, a problem that becomes even more destructive once she finds others like her. It’s a walking, talking, insult-spitting manifestation of all the things living in Hannah’s brain, proof to viewers (who may have their own inner appendages) that anxiety really can be killer.
Collider was lucky enough to sit down with Zlokovic to discuss the film and its journey from a short film to a fully-fledged feature, also starring Schitt’s Creek’s Emily Hampshire. In this interview, we broke down her personal connection to the story, and how the idea of a living, deadly appendage resonates with the anxiety of being a woman. We also discussed practical effects, where she wants to go next with her work, and how Martin Scorcese’s After Hours inspired her modern “absurdist fairy tale”.
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