Made on a budget of just £5000, writer/director Edward A. Palmer's feature debut HIPPOPOTAMUS has been making the festival rounds for a while, and is now scheduled to receive a VOD release in the UK on March 27th. In anticipation of this release, a trailer has arrived online and can be seen above.
Starring Stuart Mortimer and Ingvild Deila, HIPPOPOTAMUS begins when
Ruby Ann Wattz wakes from a bad dream to find herself in a real life nightmare. She's trapped in a basement, her legs are broken and she can't remember who she is or how she got there. Her kidnapper, Tom, tells her she will remain captive until she falls in love with him. Ruby is focused on trying to escape until he starts helping her to remember her past and she begins to question everything.
Palmer previously turned this concept into a short film, also titled HIPPOPOTAMUS, back in 2015. It is quite a twisted idea, and I'm interested in seeing how it works as a feature.
Judging by the fact that legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins has said the movie is mesmerizing, it seems like it works quite well.