Not Him
With electric performances from Tori Ernst (“Counting”, “Consider the Lilies”) and Charlie McElveen (JJ Redick in FX’s upcoming limited series “The Sterling Affairs”, HBO’s “The Deuce”, HBO Max “Pretty Little Liars”) and a nail biting script by director & writer Sarah Young, this physiological thriller is heart pounding suspense in the vein of “Gaslight” meets “The Shining”.
“Not Him” had its World Premiere with the SOHO International Film Festival in September 2023, where it was nominated for Best US Showcase Short Film and for Best Acting Performance in a Leading Role. It won Best Drama and Best Performance at the Ethereal Horror Festival in November 2023.
Sarah Young is an award-winning director and filmmaker drawn by difficult and topical subjects. She believes in powerful, transformative storytelling through radical empathy and curiosity. Her films include In Case We Get Found (2021), a short film inspired by her father’s experience as a survivor of a mass shooting event, which won multiple festival awards including Best Suspense at the McMinnville Short Film Festival. Her short film Counting (2022), about an actress struggling with severe OCD, has won multiple festival awards and is now in contract for distribution with Sony Orchard. For more on her upcoming work, please visit www.sarahyoung.net.
“On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.” – National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
What is more terrifying than a loved one turning against you? I wrote this script as I (like too many) have a personal connection to domestic violence. The film is about the fight of victims to be believed, and the power of female friendship in combating cycles of abuse. As “Smile” and “The Babadook” are horror films that explore mental illness and grief, “Not Him” is about the fight of domestic violence victims to be believed, and the power of female friendships in combating cycles of abuse. Sometimes all it takes is one person to believe you.