ABOVE THE KNEE (2024)

Streaming on Screambox from Blue Finch Film Releasing!
Directed by Viljar Bøe.
Written by Freddy Singh, Viljar Bøe.
Check out the trailer here!!

Writer Freddy Singh plays Amir, a man with a strong delusion that his leg is rotting. After a failed attempt to cut his leg off, Amir seeks advice from another woman suffering from this particular psychological issue, Rikke (played by Louise Waage Anda), who is able to see, but feels more comfortable pretending that she is blind. As the two form a friendship and Amir’s home and work life begin to crumble, both of their psychoses amplify and Amir begins to hatch a plan to destroy his rotten leg for good.

ABOVE THE KNEE is a fascinating psychological body horror film. It delves into a real condition that I believe is called DP/DR or Depersonalized/Derealization Disorder, though I believe they refer to it as something else in the film, most likely because it is from another country. It’s the belief that a body part is not your own, but in fact, an alien appendage that is invading one’s body. That’s what our lead, Amir, believes anyway. He sees a decaying, infected foot when he looks down at it and wants to remove it. While this is a film that is small in scope, the way it captures this specific disorder is exemplary. It really allows you inside Amir’s sick mind.

It’s in this kind of intimacy where the potent body horror last. Of course, Amir is not well, but he believes what he sees, a black decaying foot on the end of his leg. We are made privy to this POV through some simple effects, but also through the paintings that Amir paints. Keeping this whole thing, the disorder, his thoughts about rectifying it, and his paintings from his wife and friends cause a significant rift and it’s tragic seeing this whole drama play out.

Freddy Singh isn’t the most dynamic of actors as Amir. He is cold, closed off, and blunt in his speech, but this performance makes the role feel all the more real and Carrie’s much less baggage as it would if it were a recognizable actor. The film is well acted, it is just that Singh is a difficult lead to follow as he puts the viewer in a position that is far from comfortable.

ABOVE THE KNEE is not your typical horror film. It has its moments of gore as Amir repeatedly tries to remove his foot, but it’s the place this film puts you in that I found to be so effective. It’s not a thrill a minute kind of film, but it will burrow into your psyche and fester.