Across The Veil
By and large, I’m not a fan of seances. I understand the appeal, though. There’s something intensely alluring about the idea of talking to the dead, of reaching beyond this veil of tears and communicating with loved ones.* I understand the why, as well. A need to say goodbye. A need to ask a question. A need to deal with lingering guilt.
That’s why spiritualism was so popular for a while.** A little research on good old Wikipedia tells me that spiritualism reached the apex of its popularity from the 1840s to the 1920s. Arthur Conan Doyle was a big fan, as was Mary Todd Lincoln. For some, it was little more than a harmless party game.*** Others, such as the spiritualist Thomas Lynn Bradford, took it all a great deal more seriously. You see, Bradford was determined to prove the existence of the afterlife. In a two-part experiment, Bradford would commit suicide, then contact an associate after arriving at the great beyond. The first part of the experiment worked.
You can see why spiritualism can be such fertile ground for films. You have dark houses, flickering candles, possibly possessed furniture, and more. Can be are the operative words. When done right, you get strong films like Talk To Me and The Others. Done wrong…well, you can find a plethora of crappy Ouija board-themed movies out there. The good news is, the new indie film Seance is done right.
In the year 1892, Emma Strand (Scottie Thompson) takes in the sea air. She’s at the California coast, bathed in glorious sunshine, and on a much-needed vacation. Emma should be happy, since her debut novel has become a roaring success. But she isn’t happy. Part of the problem is with her second husband, Albert (Connor Paolo). She’s married a man who’s relentlessly proper and enthusiastically repressed. Albert is, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, kind of a schmuck.
The other problem? Well, that would be George (Jilon VanOver), Emma’s first husband. He just so happens to be on the very same beach as Emma and Albert. George is accompanied by his current wife Lillian (Vivian Kerr), and the two couples enter into an exquisitely awkward conversation. It’s a verbal smorgasbord of indelicate questions, evasions, and passive aggressive behavior.
Things get worse, because of course they do. A brutal storm is on the horizon. George suggests that Emma and Albert join them for dinner and sit out the storm. This is a terrible idea, and of course Emma and Albert accept. An even worse idea is the copious amount of booze consumed during and after dinner, so much so that Nick and Nora Charles would urge them to slow down.****
I understand their urge to drink, though. We discover that George and Lillian’s daughter Hazel has drowned. The loss has nearly shattered Lillian into a million pieces. She blames herself, and it’s possible George does, too. George is also preoccupied with lingering feelings for Emma, and Emma wonders if she’s made a mistake marrying Albert. If that’s not enough to harsh the vibe, Lillian suggests the group perform a seance to contact Hazel’s spirit. She believes there’s a presence in the house, watching things, doing things. Lillian believes her daughter is haunting the house, and Emma believes she might be in the midst of a very dangerous situation.
There’s a subtle and real difference between simply following genre tropes and using those tropes in service of character and theme. That’s what director Vivian Kerr is after with Seance. It’s true that there are multiple sequences of mysterious noises, a person creeping down a dark hallway with a flickering candle, disturbing dolls, and, what the hell, a few jump scares thrown in for flavor. But Seance isn’t really a horror film, it’s more of a chamber piece with horror trappings. Kerr wisely uses her sets and production design to create a lush and Gothic atmosphere. That’s necessary since the vast majority of the film involves people sitting and/or standing while talking.
All of the yakety-yak is necessary, and the screenplay by Kerr is ruthlessly focused on character and the themes of grief and gaslighting. After you’ve watched the film, if possible, go back and watch the initial meeting on the beach between the two couples. Watch their body language and listen to what is being said and not said. There’s something of a twist, and upon a second viewing, it recontextualizes things cleverly. A move like that wouldn’t work without a firm understanding of the four characters and the unique relationships they all share. Each character has a one-on-one scene with every other character, and each scene shows us different sides to these people. Also, the period-appropriate passive aggressive dialogue masquerading as polite social talk is a hoot.
Kerr’s cast recognizes the layers of their characters. Just as importantly, they understand the social mores that would have restricted their behavior.***** If there’s a lead, it’s Scottie Thompson as Emma. She understands that in such a tightly restricted society, plain speech and big emotions cannot flourish. She’s subtle, and is able to suggest turmoil, annoyance, or lust with a glance. I liked Kerr’s performance as Lillian, and she does good work as we see her bright friendliness gradually crack under the weight of massive trauma. As George, Jilon VanOver navigates the world with a sociopathic level of confidence that would land him a job in the Trump White House. Remember about eight thousand words ago when I mentioned that Connor Paolo’s Albert is kind of a schmuck? I stand by that, but there’s a compelling reason for it. Paolo keeps it all close to his chest until the third act. When we discover the truth, it’s a discovery that isn’t massively important to the plot, but it sure as hell is to the character.
At the end of the day, I suppose the appeal of spiritualism in general and communication with the dead in particular is just as relevant in 2025 as it was in 1892. It’s a yearning for closure, which is not something that often happens in life. We take it where we can get it, even if it’s through supernatural means. Seance uses the trappings of the parlor game spook show to say something tragically accurate. It’s an elegant film made with keen intelligence.
*A big reason I don’t do seances? The last thing I need is my parents saying something along the lines of, “You could have been anything, and you became a screenwriter and movie critic…” Do I need guilt trips from beyond? I do not.
**Allegedly, spirituality is experiencing a boost in popularity these days.
***You know it went something like, “I have a jolly idea! Let’s summon a possibly hostile shade, or even Old Scratch himself, and he can regale us with tales from the infernal regions.” As party games go, it would still be better than Monopoly.
****My favorite moment is when George asks, “Would anyone like another bottle of wine,” and before anyone can respond, he immediately gets up to retrieve it.
*****It’s clever filmmaking considering that, at multiple times, the characters could have simply walked out the front door. Why don’t they leave? Because a rigid code of manners and politeness governs nearly every interaction they have. That’s smart.