There’s something odd pressing in at the edges of the everyday in The Fairy Moon, the latest short film from director Craig Williams – whose last film, The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras, was one of the standouts of 2024. In many respects, we’re getting something in The Fairy Moon which could seem similar to Wyrm, but tonally the newer film is very different. More of a dark comedy than a horror, it only hints at a deeper storyline, dealing instead with the sheer absurdity of a day gone very awry under the influence of something seemingly occult – a word meaning ‘hidden’, it’s worth remembering, which works very well to describe what might be going on here.
Divided into three sections by intertitles with an illustration of the god Pan on each – these intertitles are narratively important – it seems like we know a little more here than the film’s protagonist Roger (Johnny Vivash), but not by a lot. As Roger waits to cross the street, we too may feel rather disconcerted by the opening line of dialogue from a dapper young stranger (James Swanton) who appears over his shoulder, asking him to “Imagine if I just pushed you into the road…” Roger is understandably a little put out by this, and by this person’s energetic, continued presence as he gambols around next to him, full of ‘what ifs?’ Making his excuses, he heads in the opposite direction, citing a ‘busy day’ ahead (though it’s hopefully no spoiler to suggest that Roger goes on to have what seems like the precise opposite of a busy day, as he spends most of his time hanging around in town on his own, though he does bring a biro).
Hiding out in a local bookshop, he’s alarmed to run into the young man again…and again…and he seems to be set on entrapping Roger into certain acts, even basic things which assumedly have a ritual significance – though lost on Roger. The young man explains that he can’t really help his exuberance and his good mood – but it’s clear that he’s bizarrely interested in Roger, and has some sort of plans in store which feel very ominous…
Our English word ‘panic’ is etymologically linked to the pagan god Pan, and The Fairy Moon is filled with a very British sort of panic, whereby a bloke is pushed beyond the bounds of his own nervous politeness into a claustrophobic nightmare. We see lots of close shots of the lead which emphasise his growing discomfort, and because we stick with him for the most part, we don’t really glean a lot about the dapper fella giving Roger such a weird time. There’s inspired casting here, by the way, with Vivash (Cara) doing a star turn as a very normal man, moving through a gamut of reasonable emotions in the face of a very weird few hours, and Swanton as the antagonist works really well too, as here’s an actor who’s forged a decent career in recent years as – with no disrespect meant whatsoever – the archetypal strange bloke (you may have seen his work in Inside No. 9, Stopmotion or The Thing That Ate The Birds, to name just a few). One way to view this film is to see Roger as, in his way, just as strange and inexplicable in his behaviour as the Dapper Stranger, which adds to the overall absurd-funny tone.
However, the film isn’t really interested in filling in the blanks for us – or at least not to the extent in The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras, which – even without a big reveal – weaves enough together to provide a more cohesive-feeling mythology. There are hints of mythology in The Fairy Moon, but hints they remain, or at least it feels this way at the time of writing (there’s certainly plenty to think about, long after viewing). We get the panic here, but not so much of the Pan. It is clear that there’s a bigger, ritual picture here, but it’s not shared with Roger, or with us. What the antagonist gains isn’t fully expounded, then, but what we do see is that Roger, with his own story in many respects just as obscured, has been forced into something inescapable by forces beyond his control. His culpability is part of a barely-understood nightmare, and whilst there’s probably not enough magic here for all audiences given the premise, The Fairy Moon is nonetheless an intriguing calling card which rewards further attention. It’s also a pleasure to again see great attention to detail, with things like the use of choral music, and the use of 16mm film coming together to create a period, or at least a more timeless atmosphere. There’s also a very funny voice cameo to listen out for…
The Fairy Moon receives its premiere on 27th July at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2025.