FORGOTTEN SISTERS

The melancholy of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” frames an eerie story of two sisters living in solitude in a haunted family home.

Anna Arbor and her older sister, Jennie, live in a historic bungalow on the Chicago River. The home was bequeathed to Anna by her grandparents, and she’s responsible for taking care of it and of Jennie, who suffers from some supernatural illness that’s also connected to the aging house and river. The tragic recent loss of Anna and Jennie’s parents may be the reason that Anna can’t get the world of the dead out of her mind. She decides to make a podcast exploring the forgotten dead and giving them recognition among the living. When her broadcasts attract a fan, Peter, Anna finds herself leaving Jennie to her long walks while she grows closer to Peter. But both Jennie and the house itself strenuously object to Anna doing anything independently, and Jennie’s warnings to Anna about the recklessness of seeking intimacy with Peter echo the girls’ childhood love of “The Little Mermaid.” Is Peter dangerous to Anna, or is Jennie the one with something to hide? Meanwhile, two detectives are tasked with investigating a string of drownings in the river. It’s clear that someone in the house must know how all these things are connected, but the truth may not rise to the surface fast enough to save Anna from danger.

Spooky and sad with a constant sense of ambiguity at its core.