An unsettling and intriguing psychological horror
Clock is a psychological horror on Hulu that revolves around Ella Patel, a woman in her thirties. Ella feels the need and urgency to repair her biological clock given the pressure exerted by her loved ones and society at large. In order to do so, Ella enrolls in a research study under the guidance of Dr. Elizabeth Simmons, a pioneering medical professional.
The approach used by Dr. Simmons causes Ella’s ingrained fears to come to the surface, tormenting our protagonist. When something appears to have gone wrong during Ella’s treatment, she gradually starts losing her grasp on reality and goes insane.
With an unsettling twist, the movie looks into the psychological implications of a woman’s biological expectation to procreate. It gets increasingly difficult to recognize what’s actually happening and what isn’t as the plot develops and Ella’s delusions and hallucinations become increasingly surreal.
The underlying themes of the thriller are based on the difficulties that women experience as a consequence of the expectation of childbearing. Writer-director Jacknow served as an inspiration behind some facets of the protagonist Ella Patel’s demeanor. The narrative looks into Ella’s behavioral shifts as a consequence of her biological clock ticking and the pressure she faces to fulfill her destiny of becoming a mother before time runs out. The movie ends up an intriguing watch though, as it looks at these experiences in an almost hyper-realistic manner with thriller and horror components.
The movie is centered on Tokophobia, an abnormal fear of becoming pregnant. Furthermore, the movie introduces the viewers to cognitive behavioral therapy and systematic desensitization while giving these psychotherapeutic approaches a sci-fi twist. The movie employs horror to draw attention to the protagonist’s psychological conflicts, which raises the suspense factor overall.
The storyline employs the horror aspect as a metaphor to examine the difficult emotional conflict at its core. In addition to all this, the film dives deeply into the psyche of its protagonist. In order to accurately capture the primary character’s mental state, some elements have been removed from reality. The emotional foundation of the story, though, keeps the movie realistic and relatable to audiences.
Clock feels like its premise has been extended from a short film and it doesn’t have enough content ideas to fill out a full-length picture. However, despite starting to feel a bit repetitive towards the latter part of the run, the movie ends with a series of unforgettable sequences of terrifying body horror.
In order to fully wrap us in Ella’s twisted psyche, the production team use desaturated shades of color and washed-out lighting to enhance our perception of Ella’s gradually deteriorating sanity, which serves as a lovely visual cue.
Dianna Agron gives a subtle, yet exquisitely detailed performance by beautifully showcasing the complexities of her character’s state of mind. Melora Hardin similarly excels at conveying a calming, yet icy undertone in her supporting role.
In the disguise of a horror movie, Clock feels closer to that of a psychological thriller and the faint glimmers of a satire that teases us with thought-provoking concepts. The movie’s themes have a strong emotional impact though thanks to its story, which is grounded in reality. If you enjoy watching psychological horrors, Clock is certainly worth a watch.
Read More: Clock Ending Explained
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Verdict - 7.5/10
7.5/10