THE LURKING MAN reminds us of Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN, a masterpiece of graphic novels which employed mythology and an anthropomorphic representation of Death as means to explore life in the modern age. Brikisak and Rommel mix a harrowing addiction drama with a supernatural battle over a woman's soul which is more effective as a vehicle to tell a story about alcohol abuse and mental disorder than if this had been a straightforward narrative without the fantastical elements. In the "normal world" Cailean's life has been pretty rough, a story not unlike the one's we've heard of people struggling with sobriety: a history of sexual abuse as a child, broken home, divorce, custody battles, etc. But when the script transports Cailean from her mundane life into a supernatural realm, then the story becomes much grander in scope in ideas and becomes a mythological story akin to Faust. Who better than the Angel of Death to show Cailean what a mess her life has been up until the moment she's dying. In life, Cailean never allowed anyone to call her out on her mistakes and poor life decisions, but in death she has no option but to revisit every painful moment, and worse, she must see every painful moment as it truly was instead of what she convinced herself it was. Brikisak pulls double duty as she portrays Cailean herself, her performance is fearless as there's no ego, she fully commits in portraying this shell of a woman, broken beyond repair. Her struggle with her inner demons and the drink is a compelling a realistic approach to how painful such existence is. It's hard to empathize with her at times, but we do feel sympathy for her. This is not an easy performance to pull-off, she goes from being an emotional wreck, to abusive to finally seeking redemption and she's giving it her all every step of the way. Daniel Lench plays Sariel, the Angel of Death, imbuing this elemental force with a regal quality and creepiness augmented in great part thanks to fantastic creature design and make-up, which allows for Lench's expressions to show through, he comes off as a Nosferatu-like creature that skates the line between benign and malevolent, teasing and judging while also offering salvation. Frank Kruger as Cailean's ex-husband Wilson and Dorian Gregory as her new flame portray two very different men who are nevertheless concerned with her well-being despite being treated poorly by Cailean. Finally, Jentzen Ramirez as Cailean's paraplegic son Beau, amazes with a fantastic performance as he turns out to be quite the find.
