‘The Fixed Mark’ Review: A Chilling Mind Game with a Supernatural Edge
The Fixed Mark, a gripping new short drama from writer-director Spencer Jay Kim, is beginning its festival run. Blending psychological suspense and supernatural mystery with an intimate exploration of grief, the film centers on a traumatized 13-year-old orphan whose apparent ability to foresee a devastating act of school violence challenges a forensic psychologist’s understanding of trauma, memory and time.
Award-winning actor, singer, producer and author Malek Hanna stars as Dr. Elias Ward opposite rising actor Alex Lizzul as Nathan “Rainn.” The cast also includes Danielle Nicolet (The Flash, Central Intelligence) as Ms. Lizotti; actor and voice artist Danny Fehsenfeld (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Young and the Restless) as Rainn’s stepfather; Nancy Telzerow (My Friend Dahmer) as Rainn’s mother; and Kim as Detective Shinn.
Following is Dr. Laura Wilhelm‘s review of the film.
Right in time for Halloween is Spencer Jay Kim’s 35-minute thriller The Fixed Mark featuring Malek Hanna and Alex Lizzul as a forensic psychologist and an oddly troubling young ward of the state. Dr. Elias Ward must discern Nathan Rainn’s role in a chaotic school shooting.
Rainn claims that his deceased mother warned him of the shooting incident and others via Post-It notes. He witnessed her traumatizing murder at the hands of his stepfather at the age of eleven.
Under interrogation Nathan Rainn soon lapses into an almost catatonic state that may or may not be real. He is threatened by one of the detectives played by Kim himself with indefinite 72-hour hold extensions until he says something that ”makes sense”. Whether or not he ever does is left up to the viewer.
First-rate acting from both Malek Hanna and especially Alex Lizzul elevate this little agon into a memorable contest of wills. Lizzul suggests through glowering stares, unsettling smiles, and off-kilter body language and phrasing an allegiance to supernatural realms that transcend the piece’s sterile institutional settings. Fans of cat and mouse psychological thrillers such as Seven and The Silence of the Lambs should enjoy The Fixed Mark and hope along with this reporter for longer films from this same talented cinematic team in the future.
Credits
Title: The Fixed Mark (35 minutes)
Format: Short Drama / Psychological Thriller
Writer & Director: Spencer Jay Kim
Producer: Malek Hanna
Executive Producers: Dawn Lizzul, Paul Lizzul
Cast: Malek Hanna, Alex Lizzul, Danielle Nicolet, Danny Fehsenfeld, Spencer Jay Kim, Nancy Telzerow
Director of Photography: Ryan Broomberg
Production Designer / Consulting Producer: Erica Tenaglia
Production Sound Mixer, Sound Designer & Re-Recording Mixer: Oleksii Laptev
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt42191576/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefixedmark/
Dr. Laura Wilhelm is the founder of LauraWil Intercultural, an award-winning consulting company established in 2009. Based in Los Angeles, she is a respected film critic and contributor to Indie Entertainment Media, The Hollywood Times, Close Up Culture, Magic Image Hollywood Magazine, and others, and conducts research and lectures at local institutions. She holds an honors Ph.D. in Russian from the University of Kansas, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and received an EMMA Award nomination from the National Women’s Political Caucus.
