From Director Aaron Truss comes Pareidolia, a creepy, beautiful, geek out casted short film that will make you look at things differently in future. |

Directed by Aaron Truss. Written by Aiden Truss.

Produced by Stuart Morriss

Late last year (2022) I wrote an article regarding a new short film that was headed into production and was running a crowdfunding campaign at the time. That article is HERE and the films title was Pareidolia. Now the films complete and is due to have its World Premiere at this months Frightfest (tickets can be bought HERE ) and ive really enjoyed seeing the cast and crew of the film update their various social media profiles as they went through their ‘Pareidolia Journey’ from headed to set, to completing their scenes to getting all excited about up and coming screenings. Its really nice to see when all the team behind a film are genuinely excited and enthusiastic about a film or show they are working on and well done to all ‘Team Pareidolia’ for allowing people not involved in the film to follow the films progress from start to completion.

Pareidolia tells the story of Sinead (played by the wonderful Diane Franklin, who I first saw back in 1983 when I saw Amityville II: The Possession.,to date still my favourite of the Amityville movies and then in 1985 in the teen classic Better Off Dead). Sinead is a university lecturer studying the subject of pareidolia (the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern, or as Jean (played by Carolyn Pickles) states in the film ‘when you see Jesus on a dogs bum’) Sinead is convinced that somethings stalking her, something non human that’s hiding in her home. The film also features Father Cavanagh (played by the always great Graham Cole) who becomes involved in the case of a very mysterious death which is brought to his attention and who seems to know far more than we the audience know at the moment about what has caused the death. That’s about as much as I’m going to tell you before you venture into this films world.

Its always a little tricky to review short films as even a few lines about the plot of a film can take away from some of the discovery of a films experience when you first sit down and watch it for yourself. I of course knew who was in the film, who wrote it, and who directed it but I avoided reading too much into the story lines of it and that’s always a preference of my own viewing habits for a film.

So what are my non spoiler thoughts on the film, well they are very easy to write about. I loved it and will gladly spend the next few minutes showering praise on the team behind it (on screen and off screen) I had no idea what the word Pareidolia meant before starting the film (or even how to pronounce it) but they (or rather Sinead ) does a great fitting explanation in the film of what Pareidolia is. The film looks gorgeous with its cinematography by James Dean and even the shortest of shots look amazing. The sound design (by Mario Vidali and Daniel J. Yates) of the film is wonderful and a huge successful ingredient and for those watching the film on a big screen with a proper sound set up, oh are you in for a treat. Make sure your popcorn bucket is stable as you may end up spilling it at some points – just a tip. If you watch it on a smaller screen, then perhaps headphones, or at least make sure your sound set up is at its best for this experience.

For me though and whilst I did love everything about the film Pareidolia . I adore the casting. Its pure geek out casting for me. Diane Franklin (Amityville II, Better Off Dead, The Last American Virgin, and Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure), Graham Cole (The Bill, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Living Daylights), Carolyn Pickles (Broadchurch, Tess, The Bill), Dawn Perllman (The Omen) , and Sandy Johnson (from 1978s Halloween where Sandy played Judith Myers) What a cast!! When producer Stuart Morriss read the script, Stuart knew who he wanted straight away for the film and his choices are perfect. I envy the filmmakers being able to hang out with this talented bunch and together the cast made this film that little bit more special for me to watch as I’ve grown up with these names appearing on the films and television shows that I’ve watched over the years.

Aaron Truss has directed a wonderful short film and if there is one thing I would like to say, it would be ‘feature film version please’ This 13 minute short film has entertained me 100% of course and has also teased me to know more about this world, these characters and this story, and Pareidolia The Feature Film , directed by Aaron Truss would be amazing. So if you want to check out a wonderfully made film, then check out Pareidolia when and where you can. I’m glad I did!