In Erin Vassilopoulos’s Superior, a 2021 indie thriller released by Factory 25 through their partnership with Vinegar Syndrome, Marian (Alessandra Mesa) reunites with her twin sister Vivian (Ani Mesa) while on the run from her past. Due to an unspoken familial responsibility, Vivian allows Marian to stay at her home indefinitely. Having been estranged from one another for six years, the dynamic between the sisters starts off a bit rocky.
Vivian is very put together on the surface; she has a beautiful home, a seemingly perfect husband, and an intricately scheduled life. Marian, on the other hand, is a bit of a wild card. She smokes cigarettes inside, struggles to maintain a simple day job, and is plagued with premonitions of her abusive boyfriend coming to find her. Unfortunately for the sisters, Marian’s past is eventually able to catch up with her, roping both women into a dangerous scenario that they must work together to escape.
Superior’s style is cold, and its pacing is measured. Every choice made by Vassilopoulos seems to favor style over substance, drawing influence from the early films of De Palma and Lynch to create a suffocating atmosphere that feels the slightest bit other-worldly. The story is short on surprises, but the subtext is rich with themes of uncertain identities, mirrored selves, pasts abandoned and revisited, and the multitude of struggles that come with womanhood.
Vassilopoulos balances all of these themes with ease, placing them subtly throughout what would be a fairly conventional woman-on-the-run story if not for the flourishes of visual bliss. The film’s power is cemented by its leads Alessandra and Ani Mesa, the former sharing a screenwriting credit with Vassilopoulos.
While Superior struggles to find its identity at points throughout the runtime, it manages to differentiate itself from other thriller films due to its strong visual language, confident direction, and a pair of fantastic female leads.