Pollen is an upcoming horror movie from writer/director D.W. Medoff, starring Ava Rose Kinard, Tyler Buckingham, and Ashley Ames. Kinard will star as Hera, an office worker who a senior co-worker assaults. Afterward, Hera finds herself tormented by a mysterious tree monster at her home, work, and even in her dreams.
“This movie is fortunate to have a star like Ava Rose bring to life the torment of a young woman after surviving sexual assault. Pollen is a horror movie, but the villain is very real. We need to continue talking about violence against women and teaching younger generations how to be better. We also need to discuss how women are treated in the workplace. Not just the pay gap in corporate America, but on a daily basis.”
In an interview with Dread Central, Medoff went over his various inspirations for Pollen, which will also be his first feature length film. Medoff stated that the monster’s physical appearance was inspired by Dryads, which were typically female tree spirits in Greek mythology. In terms of other media, Medoff also took inspiration from Saint Maud, The Babadook, Lake Mungo, It Follows, and Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House, which, unlike the others, is a limited series that aired on Netflix.
“Stories that are truly tragic and explore the real pain of living are what inspire me. The world, despite its beauty, is destructive and chaotic, and people have the potential to be terrible monsters. As a storyteller, I gravitate towards all that hurt because I am so afraid of it.”
Pollen Hides A Real Monster in Its Creature
Another recurring element amongst the above-listed films is allegorical monsters. For instance, Mr. Babadook has been interpreted as a physical manifesto of the main character’s grief over losing her husband (though the queer community has since developed a different interpretation). In Pollen, as Medoff puts it, the tree monster represents Hera’s trauma, but there’s more to it than that.
“Trees represent natural life cycles, and what happened to Hera happens to many people. Over and over. The pollen from the tree is constantly spreading. The monster is immovable, grotesque, and uncaring. It represents a problem deeply rooted in our culture. The tree monster is intentionally unnamed because it is such a recurring problem in the world. We even had multiple men wear the tree monster suit during the film as a nod to the fact that any man can become someone’s tree monster.”
Furthermore, Medoff talked about how it’s necessary to ensure that we are listening to and supporting women since men and politicians are making choices that affect women’s bodies. He also talked about how women shouldn’t be forced to act or look a certain way in order to be respected. Listing, for example, how some men demand women turn on their cameras during a Zoom call.
Pollen will be available on Apple TV+ starting June 6, 2023. It is currently available to pre-order.
