‘Osmosis’ is a short film that doesn’t let you sit back and relax. Directed by Melissa Chilson and Ryan Vera, this experimental short strips away dialogue, plot, and even comfort, leaving you with raw, visceral energy that almost dares you to look away – but you can’t.
Calloway Gassman and Aria Zendi play unnamed characters – a man and a woman – who interact with each other in a surreal, highly charged setting. There’s no talking, just an unspoken push-pull dynamic between them, set around a swimming pool that feels strangely intimate, but with an edge. It’s the kind of space that makes you uneasy, like something is about to go very wrong or very right.
Visually, ‘Osmosis’ is extremely striking. Trevor P. May’s cinematography uses the camera in ways that feel almost tactile – Zendi’s flushed, pink skin against the coolness of the water, Gassman’s sharp, erotic wardrobe cutting through the scenes. There’s a tension throughout, heightened by the camera’s tendency to linger on close-ups – fingers brushing skin, the way bodies move in deliberate motions. It feels voyeuristic, but not in the traditional sense. It’s more like you’re watching something you’re not meant to understand, but you’re drawn to it anyway.
What really sticks with you is how uncomfortable it can be, but in a good way. The silence isn’t empty – it’s loaded with a kind of energy that makes you hyper-aware of every little sound: water dripping, skin sliding, breathing. Without dialogue, the focus shifts entirely to how these characters move and react to each other, giving it a primal, almost animalistic quality. There’s desire, but it’s more about the unspoken tension between these two bodies, figuring each other out in a way that feels both familiar and completely foreign.
‘Osmosis’ doesn’t follow any conventional rules. It’s unsettling, erotic, and almost alien in how it presents intimacy and sexuality, but that’s exactly what makes it work. Chilson and Vera’s direction isn’t concerned with making you feel comfortable – it’s about pushing boundaries, visually and emotionally, to get under your skin. It’s messy, bold, and definitely not for everyone, but for those who like their cinema on the edge, ‘Osmosis’ delivers that.
