Screecher's Reach - Star Wars Visions Review
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- čas přidán 9. 05. 2023
- Screecher's Reach by Cartoon Saloon was my favorite new short in Star Wars Visions Volume 2. Here are my thoughts on this fantastic and chilling story!
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I thought the saddest part was how Dal repeated that advice to not look back, and then as soon as she looks back she looks filled with utter regret and sadness
Funny enough. That’s what the producer and the director of this short said. It’s so amazing that this story clicks so hard with everyone :)
This episode was very unsettling to me. That ending you just know she’s in for a world of dread.
The Sith alien feels like some Lovecraftian higher power that goes beyond the comprehension those kids would have, and it’s great.
But I think it showed how desperate people can be when they live a life doing nothing but being slaves
@@jeangomez7733 Oh yes definitely spot on.
That she did indeed look back terrified by the end makes it even more sad.
@@myriadmediamusings Yes! I was stunned, like wait it’s not supposed to end like this lol. A very well done episode.
This is the perfect showcase of the kind of efficient, sharp, perfectly tuned visual storytelling you can get with short-form animation. Every second, every word, every brushstroke funnels the story toward making that ending hit as hard as possible in such a short time. So so good
This was my favorite of this season. I was fan of Secret of Kells , song of the Sea, and wolfwalkers. So this was a plus for me.
Ditto.
Same
The moment that amulet turned Red was CRAZY. Absolutely loved that twist it was amazing!
I know these aren't canon, but this one could easily fit somewhere in the Rule of Two era. If we got a continuation I'd love to see Daal become even more corrupted
Agreed. For me it is canon, since we don't have many informations about the siths living in this era, besides a few names. It doesn't contradict canon in any way, since we just see how one of the siths recruits their own apprentice.
Tbh all of these could have for depending on the era
If it was Rule of Two era, then they wouldnt leave witnesses behind!😂
I could see it being earlier, like during some era when there were different Sith who weren’t United just doing their own thing.
Wouldn't it be crazy if Dahl was actually the woman in "Sith?" - I know they are not supposed to be, but a few edits here and there and they could be the same story.
This one was one of my big favorites from Volume Two. The art style gave me major Samurai Jack vibes (and I’ve heard that Cartoon Saloon did help with some of the animation for that show). The setting itself feels like a combo of Middle Earth and mining colonies in Star Wars. On top of that, the surprise of that higher being taking our protagonist to further her training is chilling. That alien looks so much like a taller, bigger version of the Grand Inquisitor, and it makes it seem like she might warp Dal into becoming a beast like the ghost in the cave (if she fails), or into another dark Sith disciple if she does survive.
This is my favorite one from BOTH seasons. They really knocked it out of the park.
Screecher's Reach was the absolute highlight of the season for me, no contest. The art style, the beautiful backgrounds, the sound design and of course, the themes of the story. I know the inconclusive ending is kind of the point, but I would absolutely love for this story to be continued in some fashion, be it a novel, a comic or even if Cartoon Saloon got to do a fully animated follow up at some point.
Yes! I'd love a sequel to both this and Ninth Jedi from Volume 1.
Amazing short and we got people saying “kick up the arse” and “eejit” in Star Wars 🇮🇪
They are now officially part of Star Wars terminology 😂
Just beautiful it brings a tear to me eye i now like to believe yoda called luke a eejit on dagooba
Like The Ninth Jedi before it, this was the standout of the season for me. What an incredible story. I wish we could get like a comic or a graphic novel or something to continue Daal’s story.
I would like to see Kara as Jedi Knight vs Daal as Sith Lord.
This was the first ep of all of Visions in release order that did get me legit emotional, both frightened for our protagonist and utterly heartbroken by the end. Of the two vols of Visions, Screecher's Reach is easily among my top 5.
I definitely saw the Ireland influence that was talked about at Celebration, and the art style & story of downtrodden kids going on an adventure was initially fun and great. And then that ending. Oh boy that ending. Not only does it make the segment end on a high, if tragic, note, it recontextualizes the entire story and our hero.
To me its the full realization of Anakin's story from the Phantom Menace and how he was a slave. That element in that movie was unclear, but is fully realized in Screecher's Reach Its definitely one of the segments that makes me yearn for more and conjures up a whole lot of horrifying possibilities:
How did Daal get in contact with the Sith?
Will she ever go back for her friends?
Will she be forced to kill them to cement her Sith alliegance?
Will she pull an Anakin and try to rescue them, only to discover them dead or dying from the sweatshop conditions, potentially leading her to go on a murder spree of the factory?
Just so much to think about and more. Screecher's Reach I can easily see topping many lists of best of Vol 2.
There's a scene in The Secret of Kells, also by Cartoon Saloon, that feels similar to how the cave of Screecher's Reach is presented, as the main character, Brendan, goes into the cave of Crom Cruach, it's terrifying, ominous, and disconnected from Brendan's reality.
Such an amazingly well written episode. At the end, as the doors are closing on her face, you could see her story laid out. She was being "rescued" from something horrible, to become something cruel and horrible.
Hopefully, she can find the light again.
I had 0 expectations going into this short and it blew me away. I was crying by the end, it hit me so hard. It's easily one of my favorites of the batch, both visually and narratively. I thought it was phenomenal at every turn.
This is one of the Visions shorts I would love to see a continuation of.
But, kinna like Lost Stars, a continuation may ruin this ending, where you can see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes.
2:55 - This woman and the way she screams resembles a bit like a banshee.
that amulet is definitely a Sith artifact
This is definitely one of my favorites, probably next to The Spy Dancer and Aua and Journey to Dark Head. That last twist was a gut punch.
I thought the ghost’s lightsaber looked too similar to the Sith Mother’s ship to be coincidence. My interpretation is the ghost was a former apprentice of the Sith Mother, and thus a contrasting vision of Daal’s future; Daal hopes to be like the Sith Mother, but I think as the door closes realizes she’s more likely to end up like the ghost.
Given their ages, it's probable that the Ghost was the former master who survived the initial assassination attempt by her former apprentice, the Sith Mother, and having been beaten and weakened, hid in the caves to try to recover her strength.
@@adcon00 I could definitely see it going either way. That said, I don’t think their ages are clear. We see environment, technology, and the Force do crazy things to people’s bodies in Star Wars. Compare Obi-Wan in ANH to Bo-Katan and Fennec in Mandalorian.
The Ghost could appear much older because of her exile in the cave, or because of a dark influence there. The Sith Mother could appear young because she has the money and power to stay young. Heck, maybe the Sith Mother drains the vitality of her apprentices to stay young.
@@adcon00 Perhaps. The Sith Mother doesn't quite look human and given she seems inspired by the Fair Folk she could be some centuries old being. Maybe her apprentice is a human and became an old woman while the master didn't age much
This was a really good short of someone starting there villains journey. The animation was so crisp and clean in Screecher's Reach.
Screecher's Reach is my favorite Visions short and is up there with Andor as my favorite SW in years.
Give Cartoon Saloon a feature length.
It filled me with a sense of pride as an Irishman watching that episode (certainly one my favourites now), considering the art style and direction was Irish, hearing the familiar accents in a Star Wars setting, seeing Irish Mythology (mixed with 19th Century culture) being presented in the context of a galaxy far far away, but best of all hearing 'kick (her) up the arse' and 'eejit' now being part of Star Wars terminology (don't care it's canon now) 😁☘️🍀🇮🇪
Yeah same it's my favorite episode for the same reason I'm an Irishman as well 😁😁🇮🇪🇮🇪.
Much as Star Wars is for everyone, I'm happy for all Japanese, Irish, English, Chilean, Spanish, French, Korean, Indian and African fans that feel pride in these Visions productions. It goes to show how a universal thing like Star Wars can be interprented or presented in their own unique way.
That female sith scared me and I'm not easily sacred by horror elements.
Funny how my Grad School course on the Schools of History covered Folklore, including Irish folklore and Banshees, a little over a week before these episodes released. Just like Kenobi episode 2 airing 2 days after I submitted my Vietnam Media paper, I would’ve had a field day talking about this
The small one of the group and the alien-kid were kinda adorable, which made it even sadder when she had to left both of them.
5:46 The wall carving is very interesting.
I want to see daal progress more through this and become a powerful sith.
Yeah definitely my favorite episode from Visions, big fan of cartoon saloon, that beautiful 2d animation, every frame just seems more thought-out and as Alex points out the story beats are both very familiar and unexpected and fits what my thought of star wars is. Would absolutely love to see cartoon saloon return to the world of SW.
This and Journey to the Dark Head are my two faves this season - Journey for encapsulating the core Star Wars theme of balance so well, and this indeed for turning all my expectations on their head and leaving me not sure what to feel (except heartache) at the end.
This gave me the whole Coraline vibes. Where the world looks like paradise but it’s actually a trap
What I like most is the little hints that build up to the end.
This was one of the best shorts across both seasons of Visions and I would honestly love to see a sequel to this one just like The Duel and The Ninth Jedi.
This is some of the best Star Wars ever as far as I'm concerned. Reminds me a lot of the legends Darth Bane origins.
I think the biggest thing for me other than the twist to point out was the music, especially at the end. Music in itself can be more emotional and damaging to your view on a piece of film then anything a character says sometimes. That's why a movie like Interstellar is my favorite film ever and the only one to this day that I cry to every time I watch it, it has the best music of any film ever in my mind. Music is so big for that reason. I felt it at the end there. Another reason why someone like Kevin Kiner needs to do more than just Star Wars.
I need a full series based on this short
I love how this is like a perversion of classic Star Wars storytelling. Out of all the Visions shorts, I would love to see this one as a full show the most
This is my FAVORITE! Blew me away!
Daal's story was the Sith Code in action.
Through Passion, she gained Strength...
Through Strength, she gained Power...
Through Power, she gained Victory...
Through Victory, her chains were Broken...
The Force... Freed her...
This was an impressive episode. I love how the studio was inspired by the cave scene on Dagobah and what the sith version of that would be like, and it definitely paralleled that from ESB. I agree the animation was mirrored to Samurai Jack's style, which was impressive. The elements of light and darkness were well done. I was amazed that the ghost was HAND DRAWN on over 100 different sketches and digitally imported to the scene, that part really won me over and just made me think how far animation studios have come now. Including the history of the Banshee was great (I have Scotch-Irish decent so I was giddy). Loved the line, "Follow your path with strength and courage." Well done.
Easily the best of season 2
Screechers reach is something you don’t see too often in Star Wars
I love the transition from fun to downright creepy
It lingers in your mind because the ending implies a tragic fate for Daal
It didn’t dawn on me until the amulet glowed red that Daal was channeling into the dark side. As she was asking for stength I could help but think of that part of the Sith code: “Through Strength I gain power, through power I achieve Victory…”
This deserves its own feature film.
Speaking of Wolfwalkers, Daal is voiced by Eva Whittaker who also voiced Mebh in Wolfwalkers. And she is going to be in the new Puffin Rock movie which is also being made by Cartoon Saloon
The Sith Mother is a fascinating character, while she is still evil and follows the rule of two, She acts as a motherly figure to Daal.
That little girl is going to be one of the most menacing Sith Lords out there.
I like how Sith Mother use an illusion to show herself as beutiful angelic beign, just like Palpatine did with his hologram when he spoke with Ezra.
She still has dark side eyes though. I think not every sith ended up looking like old wrinkly Palpatine and could be beautiful in their own, sinister way. Not to mention that not every species has to be so much negatively affected visually like a human in Palpatine's case. Maul looked quite normal (as far as dathomirian zabraks looked like) for example.
I think it's less of an illusion and more like what Marin says about the dark side of the force in Jedi Survivor.
Star Wars folk horror was something I didn’t even know I wanted.
With the voice sounding like it's echoing or doubled, I thought the woman at the end might be a Night Sister, but the credits said "Angelica Huston Sith Mother".
This, The Bandits of Golak, and Journey to the Dark Head were my favorites this season. This one in particular is up there with The Elder, The Ronin, and The Ninth Jedi from last season.
The ghost is not only a reference to banshee but also to beasts known as starweirds. These creatures are horrific sith souls. They are also absolutely horrific
Loved this one. Just goes to show how the Sith were predators for Force-sensitive children and teens, many of whom only wanted a better life.
I knew I was going to love this short because I love everything Cartoon Saloon does, but I also wasn't expecting this short to be so sinister, and I love it for it.
This was another one of my favourites, and not just because I'm Irish so I was definitely excited to see what an Irish studio would do with Star Wars.
I actually looked up before hand which studio was the Irish one before watching but when I watched it, I knew immediately that it was Irish people behind it so I wouldn't have had to lol. The red hair, the accents, the use of certain phrases, it was *all* very Irish to me🤣
I was just like "Yeah this is definitely done by Irish people" the whole time. It's so weird how much I laughed hearing that guy call someone else an "eeigit" which is basically a slang word we have for "fool" or something. Such an odd inclusion to perk up at but I did.
I also liked that the Sith figure or whatever it was in the cave, was very clearly inspired by the banshee, it was a great visual design and the screams were haunting. Funny, when we just saw the claw/hand, my mind immediately went to the Nameless from the High Republic because it reminded me of a particular image of one of their claws in the Trail of Shadows comics but seeing the full thing, I immediately thought of banshees instead and I just really liked that transition as a viewer
The first moment she asked for strength, I recited the words:
Through strength, I gain power.
I knew it in my heart what path Daal would take.
This should be submitted as best animated short film at the academy awards
This one is also my favorite since it's the closest we'll get to a Star wars horror/thriller story. At least in video media.
Oh and the Sith Mother is like a reverse of the Daughter of the Force. Which makes me think her beast form is a killer Azhdarchid, aka Pterosaurs that are best described as Killer giraffe storks.
If there’s one thing I loved about this episode, is that it showed me that horror can work in Star Wars. The idea of normal people becoming terrorised by some kind of Force sensitive evil entity is something I would like to see on a larger scale. I loved that they story is heavily based upon a banshee of Irish folklore.
Like an Evil Dead type Star Wars horror, or movies such as The Pyramid (swap the location for a Sith tomb on Moraband) or As Above, So Below with normal people who don’t have the Force, having to survive these kinds of situations.
Going to rewatch this season again soon, but this has to be one of my favourite episodes
The banshee or bean sídhe means "woman of the sídhe". in Scottish Gaelic sídhe spells as sìth. There is also creature Cat-sìth that could steal a person's soul. I want Cat-sìth in 3 season of Vision.
Having not seen the last two episodes of season 2 yet, Screecher's Reach so far is my favourite (including season 1)
My favorite of the season as well, for all the reasons you mentioned. So haunting and a perfect mirror image to what we often see, examples of which exist in other episodes. Just has it standing out from the bunch in that way.
This plus The Spy Dancer and Bandits of Golak are my top 3 episodes from this volume
That reveal was incredible!!! What a twist!!!! I have chills thinking about Dal and her thoughts as she’s going aboard the ship and when she turns back to look at her friends my goodness! I want to shriek like the ghost this short was so good!
Cartoon Saloon are a studio that know how to balance emotion, atmosphere and storytelling on a knife's edge to present an engrossing tale and this short was no exception. I definitely got a lot of reminders of the Irish Folklore trilogy from this short which is a good thing since Song Of The Sea is one of my favorite films of all time
I would like a continuation of Dal's story. It would be very interesting to see her on the path of the darkside.
The dark lines coming from the cave entrance look similar to Lola's darkness while sleeping (at the beginning of Sith).
I really like the varieties of Sith we get to see in Visions.
This was my favorite Visions short and the best Star Wars story since the Mando S2 finale. I was blown away by it. Been looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it. The design of the Sith Mother and her ship were so elegant yet sinister. I’d love to see Cartoon Saloon do more Star Wars.
Have you watched Song of the Sea and the Secret of Kells by the same studio? Absolute visual musical and emotional treats.
I could see Saal turning back at some point after learning how to become stronger with the force
I actually thought it was a Jedi picking her up but now the story seams so much more darker than it used to be.
With that said I would like some more variation if we ever get a season 3. Now its feels that all of these stories spinn around the same basic architype (kids with special gift must stand up to a challenge) and I love to see it from another perspective some times. J.
I had no idea there were behind the scenes for each omg!!!! Thank you Alex. Great video❤
This is the one that made me want more from the story... like a full episode type thing
This short was fantastic, when it ended I really was in awe and thought, I need a second part of this!
I’ve been a cartoon saloon fan for some years now, so it isn’t surprising they came with such an amazing short.
I just loved the ending, the no turning back right? Right? And at the very, very end… she did…
This episode was also my favorite of the series. In fact, I think if a friend of mine asked me if he or she should watch Visions, I'd probably only recommend this episode as a must watch.
Besides the story being good, the voice acting felt like it was a step above the other episodes in the series as well. The actors show a lot of talent.
I believe there is a prophecy at play in this short. Pause on the image of "The Ghost's" cave after the rock falls on her at 6:12. On the right hand side of the screen there are etchings in the rock wall that echo imagery of this world. The logo of Daal's necklace with a long-haired woman (the Ghost) reaching out to it. The Ghost holding her lightsaber in battle with someone (The Sith Mother?). The Ghost holding a child's (Daal?) hand, both of them with a floating object over their right hand. Then something that might be the Sith Mother's ship landing on the planet. I wish the the filmmakers had said something about this in the Filmaker's Focus featurette.
Cartoon Saloon is such an amazing studio. All their stuff are absolute bangers and I think this is one of the best bits of Star Wars Horror we have ever seen and I desperately want more of this story and these characters
I didn’t know about the filmmaker shorts! Thank you!
All I'm going to say I was shocked near the end
One of the things I loved was the reveal that it was just some old woman who was living in a cave, by herself, not even bothering anybody that didn't bother her. That combined with the image you can see at 5:45 of the video makes me think she was dumped here by the Sith Mother, maybe as punishment or something like that. So much deep storytelling in a 15 minute short is breathtaking.
I was not expecting to be scared watching visions it’s was so good and unsettling
Genuinely unsettling for me. And I swore that the Sith at the end didn't immediately have yellow eyes and I was right. It made a really nice impact and was even more ominous than if it was otherwise always yellow.
Just genuinely chilling stuff.
That opening shot where its the traditional stars in space thing but then turns out to be the inside of three workhouse is absolutely genius.
“What if you just kept going?”
Maybe sometimes you shouldn’t.
It was such a twist in the end
This is one of my favorite things in Star Wars. Ever!!
This episode and the last one I liked the most. But overall very solid animation and storytelling in this season. Bravo!
Incredible episode, very interesting to see things from a Sith way, really reminds me of Darth Bane and Darth Zannah when she was young
I had my volume maxed during this episode no regrets lol
Ever since I saw this, for some reason I keep thinking of the original teaser for Diablo 2, which also involves a hero vanquishing a demonic evil from the underground only to become something evil themselves without even realizing.
"Since then I've tried to forget the terrors I saw beneath the cold earth, and the twisted nightmares that haunt my every waking moment. There's something dark within me now, I can feel it driving me towards the east, assuring me my salvation can be found in the ruins of ancient kingdoms. Though I know the way, I know not what perils will stand before me. And as I pass through the first gate, I know now that the better part of my soul will be left behind. Forever."
Sometimes I really wish there was episode 2 for some stories, like in marvel what if they are all connected by the watcher
I seriously loved this story! The twist was awesome!
I’m so glad some people are talking about visions
I really thought dahl was speaking to a jedi but I was surprised to learn that it was a sith.
This was also one of my favourites this season. For me the light though wasn't revealing the truth. The light represented the light side of the force, in the short we see Daal reaching for it. However, she falls back into darkness and embraces the dark side instead to escape the darkeness shes already in. For me the story represents how sometimes what we see as a way out of a bad situation sometimes only drops us further into darkness. I love how visions this time was using more influences rather than just anime.
a huge fact that people miss about this episode is that the Sith Mother is voiced by Angelica Huston! It makes a lot of sense given her role in Witches
This was one of my favorites, the ending twist was like a gut punch.
4:15 a wolf in sheep's clothing
This one was my favorite, too. Glad to see it was loved by so many!
Easily my favorite of Volume 2, maybe even of both Volumes. Cartoon Saloon has only ever wowed me and this was just another incredible piece of art from them.
This one was my favorite
I didn’t know there was filmmakers focus episodes! I definitely gotta watch! This one has got to be my favorite as well with how beautiful the animation was and the story was just absolutely amazing