Logan Hamrick
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Welcome to the Party (poster)
digital
Statement
For nineteen-year-old Rachel, relationships should be about kissing, dates, and falling in love. But after accepting an invitation to meet her boyfriend’s family, Rachel is filled with anxiety. Once they arrive at the house, the party quickly reveals itself to be anything but a simple family gathering. Rachel endures a series of strange encounters with her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriends and mother, leading her to face the truth behind her relationship and choose whether to save it or save herself.
Director's Statement:
An ex-girlfriend once told me of a nightmare she had in which we arrived at a family party together and the first person to greet us at the door was a woman who revealed herself to be another girlfriend of mine. In an instant, she was filled with dread. Through the lens of this slightly off-nightmare, I decided to tap into the deepest fears of new couples and all the paranoia that comes with meeting family for the first time. Except in the constructed world of the film, meeting family also means meeting every ex your partner has ever had. The film’s reflection of anxiety and gender politics from a woman’s eyes is vastly important to my ideals. Though this film gets a little extreme by the end, the symbolic events are a way for viewers to tap into the main character's point-of-view as she attempts to shake out of the nightmare she’s trapped in.
Filmmaking (MFA) Students