Man, in today’s polarized political nightmare, it’s a breath of fresh air to watch a short that doesn’t get all “political.” PSYCHE. I can eat it up and you should too. Especially with offerings like Lola Blanc‘s short film Pruning. Let’s review!
Fun fact, Pruning started out as a top 10 finalist in the Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition in 2022. So be like Lola and Pruning‘s co-writer, Jeremy Radin, and start writing your horror short script now!
The Plot
When a mass shooter names her in his manifesto, a manicured, conservative influencer reckons with her culpability. And, whatever you’re expecting, Pruning will surprise you.
The short opens on black, under a voiceover from Sami Gellar’s online conservative show, “Free Thinker.” She has a following, because she’s good at what she does: wielding ideology to rake in that sweet, sweet engagement. Does she believe what she’s saying? The jury’s out.
Sharpen Your Shears
Anyone who’s seen the excellent Cam from 2018 should recognize the brilliant Madeline Brewer, again playing a character with an online alter-ego. Pruning is no JV affair. There’s high-profile talent and a palpably beefy budget. Night scene exteriors, for instance, haunt the short with a dreamy, muted look. The editing, too, is exceptional.
Pruning has a very strong visual vocabulary designed to compliment its themes and protagonist. Canopies and spreads of stark white parallel Sami’s obsession and pursuit of purity. Often, she is isolated by the camera’s gaze, stuck in odd angles and at the fringes of our view, as if her own aesthetic and perfection is strangling her. Even Sami’s dish drying rack tells you a lot about her character.
Sure, there’s a little bit of wilting here and there, including the not-quite-believable Tucker Carlson stooge in an ill-fitting suit, and the few minutes that could have been pruned off the runtime. That being said, nothing feels superfluous. Even its splotches of “rot” add to the overall effect of Pruning.
In fact, the title has us expecting a lot that doesn’t show up in the short. Surely, a masked killer is going to careen out of the bushes, pitchfork and clippers raised, screaming, ready to spill buckets of blood to water his thirsty plants!! But, we don’t get any of that (thank god). Spoiler alert, we don’t even see an enactment of the gunman’s spree. Because the short is trying to scare you in other ways, which is a breath of fresh air when every other new horror short popping up on YouTube consists of a hastily devised monster/killer in pursuit of a violent SLASH or CHOMP (don’t get me wrong, we love slashes and chomps here at Killer Shorts). What’s really scary about Pruning is: Sami, “Free Thinker” that she is.
Off with Her Head!
Pruning does us the service of not basing its entire thesis on a straw man–we see the protagonist as a real human, completely at odds with her online persona, and that tension is the meat of the short.
It’d be easy to write a conservative commentator and then proceed to DUMP and dunk on them, but what Pruning is after, admirably, is not “owning the right” (which usually isn’t that difficult), it’s highlighting the nuances of a recent and perilous phenomenon of online proselytizing, influencing, and gaslighting.
After learning of Sami’s predicament, we are heavily reminded of a certain politician’s comments leading up to a certain insurrection, and the following “it-wasn’t-me” rhetoric (cue Shaggy). It’s almost enough to make us write off Pruning as a flat reactionary piece to January 6th. But Sami, and her striking Tomi Lahren commonality, is more about character than Trump=bad.
The scariest moment in the whole short is when Sami deploys her persona, off-air, to defend herself when confronted. It’s like she flips a switch (the scene is the tiniest bit forced, but also perfect). This moment is a turning point from which there’s no going back–when Sami becomes the “Free Thinker” even when the cameras aren’t rolling.
To be “perfect” is to ignore the blemishes, not to remove them (because, duh, they can’t be “pruned”). In practice: dogged denial and helping yourself to a heaping plate of cognitive dissonance. That’s why the “purging” element to the story is so interesting–you CAN’T cut the “rot” out–or, if you do, what’s the cost?
There is a PARTICULAR scene near the climax central to the core of the story that has many folks head-scratching. It’s been posed that the events of this scene (tragically spoiled by the YT thumbnail) represent giving up one’s conscience, or, “soul.” I’m inclined to a more abstract interpretation, but also think it’s helpful to keep the short’s title in mind. And the mic-drop before the credits roll is supremely damning.
What Makes it Killer
When Sami prunes a part of herself, does she have a choice? A brilliant character study of a chronic perfectionist in pursuit of the ultimate purge. Plus delightfully gross and unexpected dips into the bizarre. Check it out on Alter, and be on the lookout for whatever Ms. Blanc does next.
Connect with the Filmmaker:
Pruning’s: Instagram
Lola’s Instagram: / oohlalola
Jeremy’s Instagram: /germyradin
Official website: https://www.lolablanc.com
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