Who doesn’t love a good folk tale?
Every section of this country has their own separate folk tales, their own stories about mysterious monsters and unsolved mysteries. New Jersey has the Jersey Devil. Bigfoot is rumored to live near Seattle. If you stop by Fouke, Arkansas, be sure to ask about the Boggy Creek Monster and, if you’re ever in Colorado, be sure to keep an eye out for the jackalopes. They say that Chupacabras live in South Texas and there’s a goatman who lives near Ft. Worth. I was born in the southwest and I grew up hearing stories and having nightmares about La Llorona, the weeping woman who cried for the children she had drowned.
I have to admit that, even with my love of folk tales and urban legends, I wasn’t really familiar with the legend of Tailypo. Or, at least, I wasn’t until I saw Tailypo, the latest short film from Cameron McCasland, the director of The Lashman.
Taking place in Appalachia, Tailypo opens with Levon (David Chattam) and his dog Jasper (played by Ranger) out hunting. When Levon hears something rustling in the nearby bushes, he opens fire. Though the creature runs off, it leaves something behind. Specifically, it leaves behind its tail, which Levon proceeds to pick up and take home with him. Later that night, as Levon relaxes at his isolated cabin, he starts to hear a voice hissing in the darkness. The creature is back and it wants its tail…
Tailypo is an effective 14 minutes exercise in claustrophobic horror, one that pays homage to the type of scary stories that people used to tell while sitting around in the dark or in front of campire. Even the sound of the creature hissing brought to mind a particularly creative storyteller using every technique at her disposal to lure her listeners into the world of her story. As such, it’s a scary film but it’s also a really fun film, with David Chattam bringing a sly humor to his role. If you’ve ever spent any time in the country, you’ve met someone like Levon and Chattam is authentic and likable.
McCasland makes good use of the film’s Appalachian setting, emphasizing the isolation of both Levon and the creature from the outside world. Both of them live a life outside of “normal” society and, when their paths cross, it’s a reminder that there are still mysteries lurking in the shadows. Interestingly enough, while Levon was hunting and also when I got my first glimpse of his cabin home, I found myself thinking about Winter’s Bone. Both films take place in a part of America that many would consider to be “the backwoods” and both of them use that setting to remind complacent viewers that, virtually next door, there’s an entire world that most know little about.
Tailypo is the first in a series of short films that McCasland is planning to put together for an anthology film that I hope I will someday get a chance to review. Along with playing at various film festivals, Tailypo can currently be viewed for free at both redheadedrevolution.com and on youtube.
So, go watch it!
Through the Shattered Lens 