Tags
cinemalaya, cinemalaya 2020, experimental, fatigued, Horror, independent film, james mayo, psychological, short film
Fatigued offers a glimpse of a bleak and horrifying dream. It brings the viewers in what looks like a simulation game where they have to interact with what is happening on the screen.

While the film’s interactive element is far from Black Mirror’s episode Bandersnatch, it was able to pique interest and curiosity. But Fatigued’s strength lies in its ability to build suspense in its scenes. On many occasions, it effectively inserted jumpscare moments that made the film even more engaging.
The film follows what looks like a dream sequence. It shows how the protagonist seemed to be trapped in a place already familiar to him. In several parts of the film, the main character even interacts with family members and personal memorabilia.
This point of view was consistent in the film. This style contributed to making the audience feel like they are taking part in a role-playing game. But Fatigued is more than a personal tale of the main character. The bleak and horrific images on the screen seemed to capture what we feel and experience in these difficult times. The anxiety of the character in the story is similar to what we have been experiencing in the past months. We are all trying to wake up from this long, repetitive nightmare of a year.
Fatigued was successful in making the audience feel intrigued, scared, and disturbed. In a different circumstance, watching a film like this would be like immersing to a different, eccentric consciousness, but given what 2020 has given us, this film is but an avenue of communion. It is an affirmation that we are not alone in feeling anxious and lost in the past months.