The Green Maker Scare

It’s always the unseen horror that is the most terrifying. Showing a scary movie’s monster may be the money-shot, but once it’s done it’s done. The invisible and unknowable forces are the ones that send the most chilling shivers down our collective spines. The Zodiac Killer. The Blair Witch. The Paranormal Activity spirit. The neighbour in Home Improvement. America’s Republican Party.
It’s a philosophy that director Graham Jones (How To Cheat In Your Leaving Cert, Fudge 44) understands. Like Fudge 44, his latest feature is animated. It contains virtually no sex or violence, relying instead on bold stylistic choices to invoke fear. He does it superbly. 
Starting as an old-school sleuth story, young Noreen begins investigating the suspicious circumstances surrounding her father’s death, uncovering a shocking and sinister conspiracy that has been wreaking havoc in her hometown for years.
Parallels with the systematic abuse that shook Ireland to its core are clear, and the effect is bone-chilling. As is the incredible way Jones chose to make his film. Allowing a group of children to illustrate this tale of abuse adds a layer of terrible authenticity to the horror, highlighting the youthful naiveté that has been corrupted – while also striking a defiant note, putting the power of the telling in the hands of the innocent. The simple, still and stylised green drawings which act as a springboard to the action evoke an air of eerie detachment. Ultimately, it’s the words and stories that terrify.
Perhaps striving to match the uncanny stoicism of the visuals, the vocal performances are incredibly slow and pronounced adding little to the emotional resonance of the film.
That caveat notwithstanding, The Green Marker Scare remains an important, innovative and frightening examination of horrors that should never remain untold. It can be seen online now – but it deserves a wider cinematic release.