Review: Pollen

Director: D.W. Medoff

Screenplay: D.W. Medoff

Year: 2023

The issues of psychological problems caused by traumatic events have gained much relevance in recent times. Although this is a recurring theme in horror and suspense films, there has also been an increase in films with this topic. “Pollen” is one of those that join this theme, which seeks to explore manifestations of trauma caused by sexual harassment and abuse.

In "Pollen" we follow Hera, a young woman who gets the job of her dreams and manages to capture the attention of her boss. However, her boss takes advantage of her vulnerability and sexually abuses her. While trying to cope with the trauma following the abuse, Hera begins to see a tree-shaped monster that appears to be a manifestation of her trauma.

Ava Rose Kinard playing Hera is one of the best things about "Pollen", which is good news because we see the entire plot through her. Kinard manages to convey vulnerability and resilience that are fundamental to the plot. The rest of the cast doesn't do such a good job, although it should be noted that the characters are quite one-dimensional and underdeveloped.

The problems of the characters also follow the development of the plot. The characters and situations are unusual, over-the-top, and unrelatable, which ends up being an unbelievable effort to explore such important themes as abuse, toxic relationships, and the trauma they can cause. To make matters worse, the development is quite slow and prevents the viewer from getting into the plot.

Although the director D.W. Medoff manages to create a dark and uncomfortable tone, the movie never feels like a horror movie. Instead, the focus is to explore the psychology of a woman who has gone through disturbing events with some horror elements, which are even less developed than her characters.

How little relatable its characters and situations are only makes it difficult to take an interest in the plot of “Pollen”. Its slow pace of development, underdeveloped characters, and many meaningless plot decisions worsen the experience. In the end, "Pollen" has good ideas and intentions but poor execution.