[Film Review] Peppergrass (2021)

In a mid-Covid world, it was only a matter of time before the pandemic became a factor in film. And there is no better vehicle than horror to capture the isolation and desperation of the past (nearly) two years. In Peppergrass, co-director’s Chantelle Han and Steven Garbas utilize the pandemic to tell the story of a pregnant restaurateur and her friend as they attempt to steal valuable truffles from a reclusive veteran. 

Peppergrass is a bold and inventive film with characters that often make you want to pull your hair out at their decisions. Shot in a month during lockdown, the film consists primarily of night shots, deep in the woods, with a heavy reliance on Chantelle Han’s performance as Eula, a woman forced to survive after her ill-advised plan goes terribly awry. Han does not disappoint and carries the story with determination and grit while being forced to wander desolate woods for many days and nights.

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The interactions with her partner in crime, Morris, are strained and often hostile, and while the viewer is somewhat privy to the complexities of their relationship, we are left to wonder why Eula seems to dislike him so much. As we are thrust into the story on the night the two embark on their journey, there are many elements that are not revealed, but the focus pivots away from the pair and strictly onto Eula on her own, so the initial buildup of the relationship is quickly forgotten. 

There are aspects of the story that feel almost supernatural, with the man Eula steals from seeming almost superhuman, and the survival horror that the film morphs into is certainly intriguing. But it is at times hard to keep track of time as the film carries on, with night and day flying by at a pace that makes the viewer wonder how Eula manages to stay so lost, and so alive, for so long. 

Peppergrass is a major feat of independent filmmaking. Dark, cold night shoots and a story that relies almost solely on a single actor. These things are met with sturdy and confident hands by directors Han and Garbas and the film offers a thrilling look at the lengths one woman goes through to try to stay alive. 

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