We first reviewed What Josiah Saw during last year’s Fantasia International Film Festival. Now, after twelve long months, the film arrives onto everyone’s favourite curated streaming platform, Shudder. Starring Robert Patrick, Nick Stahl, Kelli Garner, and Scott Haze, What Josiah Saw is an all-consuming, dark, and dangerous Southern Gothic tale. What impressed us about What Josiah Saw was its ability to cause unease from the slightest expression or line of dialogue. Expertly constructed, What Josiah Saw is a film steeped in pathos and trauma; it’s a heavy watch, but well worth the effort.
Written by Robert Alan Dilts, and directed by Vincent Grashaw, What Josiah Saw is a complex and unsettling story of familial bonds. After two decades, a damaged family reunites at their remote farmhouse where they confront long-buried secrets and sins of the past. The film is not an easy viewing experience. It explores themes in some dark directions and it’s the kind of film that takes the audience over, dragging them down into the on-screen world. Grashaw imbues every frame with a forbidding sense of dread, borrowing heavily from conventions of horror to instil fear into the viewer.
Now available to watch on Shudder, What Josiah Saw is a film that will divide the audience. It’s always great to find a film that can elicit some strong responses and so we were keen to speak with Grashaw when presented with the opportunity. Having spent six years trying to get funding for the film, Grashaw is still very focussed on the film. Hoping that Shudder will present a wide platform for his indie film to thrive, we chatted at length about the journey of What Josiah Saw from script to screen. In the interview below we discuss how its unconventional structure works effectively, as well as the importance of making your cast feel safe.
What Josiah Saw is available to watch now on Shudder.
