Hair of the Dog is a 2017 short thriller film with a dark twist directed and produced by Sheri Davis, who also stars, from a screenplay by Jason Marsiglia (Maternal Instincts; Creepy Crawly). Glenn Turney, Kenzie Pallone and Todd Terry round out the cast.
Review:
The most horrifying stories are based on true accounts…or what can easily be real life narrated scenarios. So watching Hair of the Dog can easily bring that all home to another level of disturbance.
John (Glenn Turney) is a construction worker whose alcoholism has finally caught up to him. While sitting in a dark bedroom nursing another hangover, John contemplates the recent happenings in his life from the day before. What happened? What did he do? And is there permanent damage?
Soon, the previous twenty-four hours unwinds, beginning with his legitimate dismissal from employment. Completely based on his drinking problem which led to a confrontation with a colleague, John is told to deal with his issues – mainly home based related.
As imagined, the family dynamics are beyond flawed. Wife and mother, Crystal (Sheri Davis), is packing up the truck to leave once and for all. Flashes of domestic violence have threatened to destroy this union and now, it’s come to an end.
Watching the heartbreak on daughter, Eve’s (Kenzie Pallone) face is crushing and the constant desperation through the lies being spit out of John’s mouth as he clings hopelessly to his family, feels like a punch to the gut. You want to reach out and scream “Give him one more chance! He’s sorry!” But alas, the enablement is over and it is rock bottom time.
The despair that follows is quickly summed up in a finale of extremity involving a shotgun and excruciating pain. Not only physical, but mental as the beast of alcoholism is revealed.
Hair of the Dog is an important short for anyone who has been involved in traumatic damage through addiction. It is truly agonising and distressing, knowing the only change will come about through intense tragedy.
Sheri Davis has created a raw torment for the senses. Watching the interlude between her portrayal of Crystal and Glenn Turney’s compelling turn as John is as real as it gets.
Hair of the Dog will keep you on the wagon way past the sixteen minutes it took to spill a story of bleak depression. Absolutely devastating.
Meredith Brown, HORRORPEDIA