BLACK ICE

Description

A dark psychological thriller about a figure skater, a hit-and-run car crash and the self-destructive power of a guilty conscience. Alice scrapes the ice from her windscreen and sets off home after a few drinks with friends. Snowflakes sprinkle over her car as her mind drifts to tomorrow’s figure skate performance. Distracted by her phone, she skids on a patch of ice and an oncoming car is forced off the road… At the ice rink the next day, as she performs her routine, Alice seems distracted. She stumbles and falls. Riding the bus home, nursing a bruised head, she has a nagging sense of being watched and a stranger appears to be following her. The door to her apartment is ajar. Armed with a kitchen knife, she searches nervously for an intruder… but there’s no-one there. rnShe sinks into a candlelit bathtub. Snowflakes fall over her as we flashback to last night’s crash… The other vehicle lies against a tree; the driver badly hurt. Alice wants to help but a set of approaching headlights panic her. She flees the scene… We leave her in the bath, cold and alone, her only company a guilty conscience.

Biblical Connection

The film takes inspiration from a passage in Romans Chapter 2 (specifically verses 14 - 15) which suggests that even those who don’t follow the law of God may still possess a deeply ingrained understanding of right and wrong, for they are governed by their conscience. Should they commit a sinful act, they will be left feeling conflicted and suffering with the ramifications of guilt. 
I want to explore the complexities and intricacies of this passage and examine a character’s subjective experience of intense guilt, and how it manifests as paranoia and shame.