[Film Review] FrightFest: Transmission (2023)

“Horror is like any other drug, you develop a tolerance.”

Written and directed by Michael Hurst, Transmission (2023) is the story of the weird stuff you used to see on late-night TV. Framed as something an old man saw while flipping channels one night, Transmission tells a few seemingly disconnected stories that end up intertwined when the film is finished. Similar to an anthology, but the stories are more connected than usual, the film offers a unique viewing experience. 

Part found-footage, part mockumentary, the story follows Rachel (Nicole Cinaglia), who is trying to understand her missing grandfather’s past. Her grandfather, Frank Tadross Roth (Vernon Wells), was a horror film director, but not a famous one. His films gained cult followings and tended to tell bleak and terrifying stories. Then one day, an actress in a film of his was murdered, and he disappeared. Transmission tells the story of Rachel looking through her grandfather's things and following his obsessions to try and understand why he left, and where he went. It also occasionally flips to breaking news footage, covering a violent home invasion, and related stories of a pattern of murders and suicides in the same town, all connected by a symbol drawn in blood. The film also takes a few jarring leaps into what appears to be an 80’s sex comedy in the style of Porky’s (1981), where a loser pool boy is trying to get a date with the hot, unattainable girl. The tonal shift is enough to cause whiplash, but it’s intentional. These scenes are interspersed with scenes from Frank’s horror films. He studied occult rituals so he could portray them accurately. But his final film, starring a woman who was murdered, was also called Transmission, and was a sci-fi about a transmission coming from a void in space. His final film was lost to time, and horror fans are excited to watch its premiere on TV, hosted by a woman paying homage to Elvira. Because the film includes so many different stories from across decades, the sets, costumes, and props are lovingly crafted, to give every scene an authentic look.

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The character of Frank was horror-obsessed and was always chasing a scare. He never wanted audiences to have a happy ending, he wanted to give them real nightmares. This hunger for fear led him on a dark path, which made its way into his filmmaking. Transmission exposes the dark side of horror obsessions. It’s fun to be a fan, looking for lost films and blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Who doesn’t love the idea of a cursed tape, if it’s fictional? But taken too far, and where does the horror end, and real life begin? 

The experience of watching Transmission is an exercise in trust. Though the stories seem disconnected at first, trust that the film will all come together and make sense. Trust that you are watching one story unfold. Watch until the end, and don’t close your eyes.

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