Loom

A man and woman sit across the table from each other on a date. The woman is clearly uneasy in the circumstance, not really enjoying the manner in which the conversation is unfolding. The situation is plain and direct, and yet, before the viewer can conclude it thus, the most strange development occurs within the plot - the presence of an unexplained television set that haunts the protagonist.

Alongside this seemingly omnipresent entity, Meg’s love life moves ahead, but not in a direction desired by her. After several attempts to avoid her date’s calls, she reluctantly agrees to meet him again, while the foreboding presence of the screen continues to become more overwhelming.

Whether you want to read the narrative as a parable of modern day dating, insecurities, acceptance and identity, or a woman’s inability to say no, or of a person seeking comfort outside heteronormative structures, it could perhaps mean all or none of them. Consequently, if one were to attach their own meaning to each symbol and metaphor, ‘Loom’ would be a difficult film to unpack, and thus, it should be consumed as the surreal ride it is, marked not only by elements of sci-fi and psychological horror, but also the absurd when you least expect it.