Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
WHAT DO YOU FEAR?
High school senior Josh goes on a mind-bending and existential journey to uncover the mystery of his friend's disappearance and uncover who - or what - is behind it.
Leave a review on Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/SOkC
Directors Statement:
Coalescence has been a movie almost three years in the making, and in that time I have learned and grown so much as a filmmaker, pushing me to adapt to various logistical hurdles, further find my voice as a storyteller in this audio-visual medium, and learn to listen to the art at its various stages. With this particular project, listening to the art meant allowing the experimental nature of the film to emerge. A film really evolves over the course of its creation; from writing the screenplay, to filming, to the edit. Coalescence was a much “tamer” film in its conception. It began as a coming-of-age film inspired by Cold War paranoia & conspiracy theories, implementing several Amblin-esque elements along with a splash of experimental horror to tell the story of a young man about to graduate high school, trying to find his missing friend, and learning to face big life changes. Filming began in the summer of 2022, and the actors worked phenomenally together, I got to take my cinematic voice in a different direction than my previous three feature films, and the availability of various locations and over forty cast and crew members from the theater group I was volunteering with at the time brought Coalescence to life. As production progressed and scheduling conflicts altered the film, Coalescence was put on-hold indefinitely at the end of 2022 with around 25% of the movie still left to be filmed. Coalescence remained in stasis for almost a year and a half, and I was stumped on how to continue. I knew that I wanted some version of the project to be released, even if it wasn’t what I initially imagined. This time and separation from the project allowed me to start to see the project in a new light. Coalescence was a caterpillar in a chrysalis, waiting to metamorphose. I gave the footage to Ethan and Jordan to play with, allowing them to act as fresh sets of eyes on the project, bringing their own lens and interpretation to the footage. Through this exercise, the direction of where the art wanted to go became clear: Coalescence wanted to go full-on experimental. Through the editing process, we embraced the more intellectual sides of Eisensteinian Montage Theory - relying on the editing to tell the same story but through a far more abstract, mind-bending, existential manner. What seemed like logistical road blocks at first had now become the catalyst for Coalescence’s metamorphosis and my growth as a filmmaker. Coalescence has really taught me so much and it has been a real privilege to work with such a wonderful cast and crew. The chemistry of the main cast is the beating heart of this film, and Ethan Hansen’s work spearheading the edit is mind-altering. I am so excited to share the final film with you all and take you on the mind-bending journey that is Coalescence.
Like and subscribe if you enjoyed the movie!
Follow us: https://linktr.ee/doomedproductions
Consider buying us coffee: buymeacoffee.com/doomedproductions
WHAT DO YOU FEAR?
High school senior Josh goes on a mind-bending and existential journey to uncover the mystery of his friend's disappearance and uncover who - or what - is behind it.
Leave a review on Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/SOkC
Directors Statement:
Coalescence has been a movie almost three years in the making, and in that time I have learned and grown so much as a filmmaker, pushing me to adapt to various logistical hurdles, further find my voice as a storyteller in this audio-visual medium, and learn to listen to the art at its various stages. With this particular project, listening to the art meant allowing the experimental nature of the film to emerge. A film really evolves over the course of its creation; from writing the screenplay, to filming, to the edit. Coalescence was a much “tamer” film in its conception. It began as a coming-of-age film inspired by Cold War paranoia & conspiracy theories, implementing several Amblin-esque elements along with a splash of experimental horror to tell the story of a young man about to graduate high school, trying to find his missing friend, and learning to face big life changes. Filming began in the summer of 2022, and the actors worked phenomenally together, I got to take my cinematic voice in a different direction than my previous three feature films, and the availability of various locations and over forty cast and crew members from the theater group I was volunteering with at the time brought Coalescence to life. As production progressed and scheduling conflicts altered the film, Coalescence was put on-hold indefinitely at the end of 2022 with around 25% of the movie still left to be filmed. Coalescence remained in stasis for almost a year and a half, and I was stumped on how to continue. I knew that I wanted some version of the project to be released, even if it wasn’t what I initially imagined. This time and separation from the project allowed me to start to see the project in a new light. Coalescence was a caterpillar in a chrysalis, waiting to metamorphose. I gave the footage to Ethan and Jordan to play with, allowing them to act as fresh sets of eyes on the project, bringing their own lens and interpretation to the footage. Through this exercise, the direction of where the art wanted to go became clear: Coalescence wanted to go full-on experimental. Through the editing process, we embraced the more intellectual sides of Eisensteinian Montage Theory - relying on the editing to tell the same story but through a far more abstract, mind-bending, existential manner. What seemed like logistical road blocks at first had now become the catalyst for Coalescence’s metamorphosis and my growth as a filmmaker. Coalescence has really taught me so much and it has been a real privilege to work with such a wonderful cast and crew. The chemistry of the main cast is the beating heart of this film, and Ethan Hansen’s work spearheading the edit is mind-altering. I am so excited to share the final film with you all and take you on the mind-bending journey that is Coalescence.
Like and subscribe if you enjoyed the movie!
Follow us: https://linktr.ee/doomedproductions
Consider buying us coffee: buymeacoffee.com/doomedproductions
