Starburst The themes raised by Cara are often hard to face head-on, and the outcome difficult to stomach, with Hewitt pushing the audience to breaking point along with the titular character. The dialogue is unflinchingly believable and could see Hewitt being the Ken Loach of horror.
Warped Perspective I’m still pondering what I’ve seen: is anything as it seems? Nothing is true; everything is permitted?
Audiences will differ, and this is also to the film’s credit. Cara leaves you with a sense of deep unease, and it sticks around, too, kicking up the odd moment of crushing realisation, or the answer to a question you wish you’d never asked’
Fright Fest Gore in the Store 4 star review ‘Elle O’Hara is excellent as Cara, believably oscillating between the raw anguish of her character’s inner self and the flat, sardonic mask that she presents to the world; and Johnny Vivash’s John is chilling… this is a gem of a film, but it does tread on dangerous psychological ground. It’s a good idea to read the trigger warnings and to take them seriously’
My Bloody Reviews 9/10 review ‘There are terrific performances across the board, especially from Elle O’Hara in the lead role and Johnny Vivash, who is an absolute tour-de-force as ‘nonce’ Johnny Fisk. There is no telling what he might do next especially as there would appear to be really nothing that he would not do. It all builds to the grimmest of grim finales, which is as bloody and as violent as you can get. You have been warned!’
Horror Halloween and Home ‘Cara is bleak, dark and fucked up… brilliantly played by Elle O’Hara an unreliable narrator that I can’t decide if I’m terrified of, or rooting for. Perhaps both. The cast are great, with fantastic performances from indie horror faves’
The Dark Side 4 star review ‘It’s not an easy watch, but it is anchored by a very strong lead performance by Elle O’Hara… An often bleak, uncompromising look at mental instability, this is a realistic psychological horror with bursts of violence. There are fractured, flashing, nightmare images as she is plagued by visions. Things go ‘full on’ near the end and get bloody, gory and violent’
Bloody-Flicks ‘Hewitt juxtaposes the mundane everyday locations that the film takes place in with the previously mentioned surreal nightmares that Cara suffers from in the same vein as directors such as David Lynch, Hitchcock, and Herk Harvey. Through the use of blue filters, and a more expansive colour palette the dream sequences are both luridly terrifying yet are also a joy to look at due to their surreal inventiveness’
25 Years Later – ‘The movie feels carved from the indie spirit of the ’90s and cusping ’00s independent films that show the sleazy and duplicitous sides of society, which, like mental health, are often the parts no one wants to look at or discuss. Like Requiem for a Dream and early Tarantino films, Cara is gritty and delivers, with a violent ending that even had me holding my hand over my mouth at one point’
Beyond the Gore – 4 stars ‘Performances are solid with O’Hara, delivering a standout role as the titular ‘Cara’. Even as the film shifts between hallucinations and reality, her performance remains grounded, carrying the weight of each moment… ‘Cara’ is easy to recommend for fans of violent psychological thrillers, and even those with a taste for exploitation-style cinema might find something to latch onto here. It’s nastier than most modern films of its kind’
Warped Perspective ‘Comments like “I really liked it but feel like I need a shower now” are quite wonderful and being asked at festivals what happened to certain characters or people sharing their interpretations of the film are beautiful things, too’
Starburst: Hayden Hewitt interview ‘we did film one scene where, after it was finished, I had to go outside and have a minute with myself, thinking, ‘You’re a very bad man’’’
Macabre Daily Hayden Hewitt YT interview
Macabre Daily Hayden Hewitt Website Interview
Horror Halloween and Home An interview with Hayden Hewitt
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