Article written by Richard Gorey. To say From Inside, a partially-animated fable of nuclear devastation, is relentlessly bleak is meant more as an observation than criticism, since that feeling in the work is intentional. From Inside follows Cee, a young woman in a post-apocalyptic world whose journey on a rusting train to possible salvation is fraught with horror, hardship and the promise of even worse suffering down the track. Artist John Bergin created From Inside almost single-handedly. Though the environments and landscapes are intricately rendered and animated, the movements of the main characters are suggested with moving stills rather than fully animated. The result is a dreamlike, sometimes static experience whose haunting Gothic imagery is nonetheless quite powerful. I wonder if it is even fair to describe and market the film as “animation” since it seems something unique and new—a hybrid that falls somewhere between the experience of a graphic novel and a motion picture. Other films have employed similar graphic styles, but seldom for a feature length production. As a character animator, I am always searching for ways to enhance the story I tell with bits of acting, expression, and business that might convey emotion and clarity to...
