Mary & Marsha in the Manor of Madness
Mary & Marsha in the Manor of Madness is an animated short directed by Kris Theorin and written by Kurtis Theorin. This film presents an escape of Mary and Marsha from the madness of Marsha’s parents in a huge manor. It is incredibly adorable to watch those little-animated figures running around in an old mansion trying to escape from the tentacle monster that was once a little dog. Marsha’s parents indulge themselves in occult practices along with an army of mystical followers. They disapprove of Mary and Marsha’s relationship and throw the framed picture of theirs into the fireplace. The story starts from there and it ends in a rather comedic way.
When Mary contemplates the framed picture of herself and Marsha (her girlfriend), Marsha’s parents nod at that disapprovingly and throw the picture in the fire. In a dramatic inexplicable cartoon way, Marsha comes out of that fireplace when the fire is put out. Mary breaks opens the huge door of the room they are confined to with Marsha’s family picture. They try to escape from the manor and are pursued by many obstacles in their way out, all of them with tentacles popping out from the place where once were their heads. One among them is a little cute dog. We see the tentacle doggy once again in the end, but in a completely different light.
The hand-drawn film which rightfully claims to bring together the classic cartoons humor and Lovecraft’s horror is a delight to watch. The sound that is played along the short is an asset to the narration of this escape. The entertaining ideas that took shape in this film take it forward in an engrossing sequence of chases; the way the couple throw themselves into a wagon and followed by tentacle monsters in another one in a disciplined manner. The colors that are chosen reflect the urgency and the necessity for an escape from a scary mystical mansion.
After being chased by the monsters and when cornered, Marsha’s father injures his daughter with a scythe. When the blood of Marsha touches the ground on which some drawings were drawn so as to summon a supernatural force, the tentacles rise from the very ground of the manor and engulfs the whole building leaving a huge heap of rubble. Mary and Marsha escape the destruction caused by the horrifying tentacle monster and hug each other out of uncontrollable longing and love. From below them pops out from the rubble the dog with tentacles in the place of a head. The film ends there.
Mary & Marsha in the Manor of Madness is a very well executed animated short which combines the silly chases of the couple and horrifying supernatural forces chasing them in a very amusing way. With no dialogue and totally powered by some amusing flicker, cracking sounds, this is a funny little film to watch when there are no arms to the characters. The love of Mary & Marsha lives on.
