The short film uses both horror and fantasy motifs, filtered through an environmental lens, feeling almost pagan at times. Through the protagonist Nadia (Trinity Simpson), we see a world that we have strayed from, a nature we have forsaken. After a drug trip with friends, Nadia embarks on a psychedelic journey and meets an embodiment of nature, identified as the Horned One in the credits. At first a terrifying entity, Nadia eventually sees the beauty in the Horned One, and realizes her own connection to both it and the place she is fated to protect. Whether Nadia simply hallucinates this or is able to transcend to the astral plane is open to interpretation but ultimately beside the point. Either way, she was able to achieve this higher level of understanding not with any manmade substance but by ingesting mushrooms, a vision provided by the earth. The Call of Water is a short that wastes no time creating a dazzling landscape to behold with a meaningful story to tell. Tone is poised to be one of our great filmmakers and I look forward to more from her!
