Fantastic Fest 2024: ‘What Happened to Dorothy Bell?’ Review
Stars: Asya Meadows, Arlene Arnone Bibbs, Lisa Wilcox, Michael Hargrove | Written and Directed by Danny Villanueva Jr.
What Happened to Dorothy Bell?, the second feature from writer/director Danny Villanueva Jr. is, on its face, just another found footage/screenlife film about an investigation into the paranormal gone wrong. But, like the director’s first film, I Dream of a Psychopomp, there’s something deeper lurking under the surface, and that makes all the difference.
As a child, Ozzy Grey (Asya Meadows; Hyde Park) suffered a traumatic injury at the hands, and blade, of her grandmother Dorothy Bell (Arlene Arnone Bibbs; The Coming, Holy Trinity). It was the final act in her transformation from beloved librarian to part of an urban legend about an evil presence haunting the library. There’s even a picture of what is allegedly her ghost in the building.
She repressed the memories of the event, and her family told her the wounds were the result of a car accident. Finding out the truth destroyed her relationship with them and badly damaged her mental health. To help with that, she has video sessions with Dr. Connelly (Lisa Wilcox; Don’t Suck, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) who encourages her plan to start a video diary. When her grandmother’s house comes on the market for next to nothing, she decides to buy it and investigate what actually happened. It quickly leads her to the library her grandmother worked and died in, and a cursed book hidden on its shelves.
If Villanueva had left it at that and made a straightforward ghost story, What Happened to Dorothy Bell? would still have been a solid film. The opening scenes of what happened that night hooked me, and the scenes of the darkened library are full of atmosphere and jump scares. Cinematographer Michael Thomas Determan (Charlie and the Empty Factories, Becoming Undead III) takes full advantage of the dark rows of books and the suggestion of what might be lurking there, to keep the viewer on edge.
But the film’s underlying story of dysfunctional families, generational trauma and mental health issues give it added depth and power. In this case, it involves the family’s history of mental illness, something Ozzy’s parents tried to shield her from. It also raises the obvious question of whether what we see is real or just nightmares in a damaged brain.
But the film’s underlying story of dysfunctional families, generational trauma and mental health issues give it added depth and power. In this case, it involves the family’s history of mental illness, something Ozzy’s parents tried to shield her from. It also raises the obvious question of whether what we see is real or just nightmares in a damaged brain. While the film seems to hint at the answer, it never clearly offers one, leaving it to the viewer to make their own decision.
Much of the credit for the film’s success goes to the performance delivered by Asya Meadows. She’s quietly convincing as she goes from damaged but hopeful to seemingly more disturbed, making her own ouija board and ignoring important phone calls. And by the film’s end either in the midst of a full-blown supernatural attack or completely separated from reality. Watching her, it’s hard to believe this is only her second film.
Wilcox is solid as her therapist despite very limited screen time, as is Michael Hargrove (Candyman, Were the World Mine) as Ozzy’s estranged father. With only a couple of other characters, What Happened to Dorothy Bell? has a very small cast, but it is a talented and effective one.
Overall, What Happened to Dorothy Bell? isn’t just a successful second film, it’s a film that marks Danny Villanueva Jr. as someone to keep an eye on. He’s managed to pack a lot of both scares and things to think about into a mere eighty minutes. And he’s done it on what was obviously a low budget and still found a way to include an effective-looking severed head.
**** 4/5
What Happened to Dorothy Bell? Made its debut at this year’s Fantastic Fest.
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