Sam, the titular character of the new short film from Zeus Kontoyannis, gives the impression that he just walked off a Tim Burton set. Wonderfully played by Christopher Piccione, he lurks about like an estranged member of The Addams Family. Clad in a black mortician’s suit that enunciates his pale skin, he stands in stark contrast to his bright and colorful surroundings. Despite neither of his parents possessing one, he speaks in a bizarre English accent.
His mother (Cathy Finlay) appears to be a typical overbearing parent that still babies her adult son, and she’s been impatiently waiting for him to find a woman. Sam – who’s lived a peaceful but lonely life thus far – has found someone, but not someone that his mother would accept. She’s severely homophobic, and her hate, combined with other problems, seems to have made Sam as hesitant and nervous of a person as he is. Mr. Sam gets a little weirder than that, though. Sam’s biggest problem isn’t that his newfound lover is a man. The problem is that it’s a corpse.
For a short film that runs under half an hour, Mr. Sam manages to pack a lot in. It deals with homophobia, toxic masculinity, homoerotica, necrophilia, and mental illness, with a lightly macabre approach. Kontoyannis’ short is also strangely sweet. Sam only receives kindness and warmth in his life from women (excluding mom), and his relationship with young Sandra (Catherine Ashmore Bradley) is so pure that it nears the point of becoming saccharine. Sandra is the one that lovingly gives Sam the title of mister, and he offers help with homework and exists as the only gentle male presence in her life.
Sam’s love for a dead body is obviously disturbing, and he seems to agree. He pleads with his therapist (Natasha Strang) for stronger medication, mentioning that he hasn’t been able to sleep. But she wants him to take the next step and attempt to really deal with his problems, not just numb them with drugs. When Sam’s secret is discovered in an extremely compromising way, he may be forced to do exactly that.
Despite a bit of a clunky ending, Mr. Sam is a morbidly delightful short film. It’s not easy to garner sympathy for a necrophiliac, but Kontoyannis achieves it with this grotesquely wholesome story about finding happiness in loneliness. It’s bizarre yet charming, and it thoroughly nails the cheeky, lurid feel it goes for.
Review screener provided
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