Thanks for the memories!

So much average

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Channeling aspects of both science fiction and horror, Kitchen Sink is a provocative yet minimal short fiction film. The narrative begins simply with an everyday chore in an average setting which escalates into a dramatic day very quickly. This blandness is enhanced by being filmed in black and white, which then transitions into being suspenseful/mysterious, supporting the narrative throughout the film.As a woman pulls an umbilical-like strand from her kitchen drain, the suburban dream is shattered into nightmarish proportions. While she was once intrigued and interested by what was hidden beneath, when she sees the alien fetus emerge she is frightened and disposes of it. It appears as if this opening implies the deterioration of suburbia or repression of abnormality.The woman's fear however is not long lived. The fetus grows into a man, indicative of the natural cycle of life (despite him being "alien") from the womb into the world. Her disposition is altered by his nonthreatening presence. The woman's loneliness may be exemplified here by her eagerness to form an attachment to something abnormal to her. Yet, the woman exhibits a motherly attachment to the man rather than a sexual one. At first their relationship may appear sexual seeing as they are alone together and sleeping on her bed. Her tenderness comes across as she tends to him, instead. It isn't until she falls into her repressed desire when they embrace that her world becomes threatened for acting on her feelings that can be interpreted as incestuous, or against societal norms.The film's ending can also be interpreted as a commentary on perfection. The woman chooses to shave him completely of his hair to make him appear more normal. This allows her to become more comfortable with his presence. She rejected his existence once because he was far from being human. Shaving his hair not only allowed her to mother his metamorphosis into a human/man, but it also allowed her to fulfill a fantasy that was previously denied. In the end she attempts to pluck out his last piece of self from his neck, which ends in either his and her destruction or the beginning of a new cycle similar to his emergence from the sink drain.

The first time I saw this twisted but wonderful little film I was maybe 12 years old. I remember seeing it on television, probably broadcast as a filler after a feature film or something. It made a significant impression on me then and when I watched it again this week, it made an even greater one.Canadian director, Alison Maclean, has created a wicked little masterpiece with this film. The way some of the shots in this film linger on dangerous moments proves her mastery of suspense. Without giving anything away, Maclean manages to show just enough of certain things to keep them unsettling and creepy.The film is about obsession and the problems associated with dwelling on some tiny, nagging thing. The protagonist cannot leave well enough alone and so brings the real horror of the film upon herself.This is definitely one to watch for a great example of how to create suspense.

Kitchen sink, in spite of its name, actually doesn't have a lot in the film as far as props, set, or characters (I'm referring to the saying throwing in everything but the kitchen sink). Nevertheless, it is a creepy, atmospheric film which kept me on the edge of my seat. How many horror films today can you genuinely say have done that effectively? The premise is strange but original. The black and white shooting style which normally seems amateur works perfect in this atmosphere. It feels so cramped and tight that you feel claustrophobic too. When the fetus is taken out you're disgusted and curious. You also feel the man's pain when it grows in the water and she shaves it down.It does become a little weird and so maybe I missed some of the larger message as far as when she kisses him despite his seeming deadness. But I love the way this film ends on the note it starts with although I am not positive what exactly the ending image means or will even produce (another fetus?). Definitely disturbing and yet no violence. Worth a watch if you're in the mood for some weirdness and to be freaked out.9/10

I loved this short film to pieces. When I saw it was called `The Hairy Fetus' so it took me forever to find anything on it. It was the kind of thing that I was just transfixed on the entire time. It moved along so well and got continually better and better as it went along. Then the end ending! I've never been so disgusted with a film I couldn't take my eyes off of. I wish short films like this were more readily available so people could have access to them. Its not something you can rent. I actually caught it by accident between films on The Sundance Channel years ago, but it really stuck with me all these years. If you can catch it anywhere have a looksie.