MIFF 2022 Short Film Review - Anxious Body

Images courtesy of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Subtly satisfying and serenely unsettling, Anxious Body is a surreal animation directed by Yoriko Mizushiri that takes the pleasing aesthetic of little details - a perfectly ripped piece of tape, the strange feeling of skin stuck to itself, clicking a mechanical pen to get all of the lead out - and turns them into unnerving moments of tension and uncanny body horror, as fingers and limbs bend into impossible contortions, combined with imagery of snakes, tennis racquets, spongy triangles, and the tense dance of pulling on a hangnail. It all comes together through the eerie sound design and music, the harsh strings and synths give the already bizarre animation a tactile and uncomfortable feel. All to keep you tense until the cathartic release at the end.

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Anxious Body is screening as part of the Animation Shorts program at the Melbourne International Film Festival, running in cinemas August 4-21 and online August 11-28. For tickets and more info, click here.