From the opening shot of Rosalee Yagihara’s short Gnaw, when we see a woman awake in bed trying to get rid of a raggy nail, you just get the vibe that something might be off.
She discloses biting her nails has been a tick of hers since she was young, but this feels like we’re just scratching the surface of the real issue.
The performance from Luvia Petersen here is quite nuanced, as she becomes addicted to her raggy nail and you get the vibe we are slowly wading into body horror territory.
Gnaw poses many questions about addiction, mental health and also perhaps queer guilt if you want to read into it a bit deeper.
Without giving anything away, the final shots of this short are shocking to say the least, but certainly deliver on the film’s promise.
Gnaw screens as part of the Overlook Film Festival 2023.
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