Chattanooga Film Festival 2026 Coverage
Photo Negative review
A woman with no way out finds the most unlikely path forward.
Festival movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Photo Negative
Directed by Jacob Perrett
Written by Jacob Perrett
Starring Karlee Mayfield, Taylor Rhoades and Casey Notarianni
Photo Negative Review
The true horror of Photo Negative is a very grounded and real one. Money, specifically the lack of it, can put you into incredibly difficult situations. There are no ghosts or monsters here…but there is horror. The horror of what you have to do to get by…and not knowing where the next check is coming from. That can easily lead to giving people control and power over you. As is the case in Photo Negative.
Jen (Karlee Mayfield) is a photographer. She tries to scrape by through a job taking crime scene photos with a dose of gig work on the side. It isn’t enough. At least…it isn’t enough to have the kind of life and future that Jen envisions having. When the crime scene job falls apart…she becomes desperate enough to entertain the increasingly strange requests of a couple who she had done work for previously.
Jen’s financial situation is at the heart of everything in Photo Negative. She’s facing eviction, hasn’t paid her phone bill and can’t even buy drinks while out on a date. The crime scene job is about as terrible as it sounds. Not only doesn’t it pay well…but Jen has a panic attack while trying to document the disturbing scene. Then cutbacks take that source of income off the table completely. The only thing worse than having a bad job is having no job at all.
This new setback causes Jen to reach out to past clients to see if they have any need for a photographer. Photo Negative is deeply rooted in the creative artist problem. You probably won’t make a living doing what you love…even if it’s the thing you’re most talented at. But you just can’t give up wanting to do it. That added layer makes Jen’s choices work in Photo Negative. Maybe the only way to make money involves even worse jobs utilizing your talent…but at least you’re still utilizing it. At least for a while.
As you might expect, things turn darker for Jen pretty quickly. A couple that hired her previously, Arthur (Taylor Rhoades) and Madison (Casey Notarianni) find new uses for her services. Things are uncomfortable even before Jen fully commits to the couple’s big plan. A solo shoot with Arthur is about as awkward as it could be. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
The crux of Photo Negative revolves around the couple’s ultimate request. It plays against the backdrop of Jen’s own relationship drama. Things intertwine together in surprising ways…but not ways that really answer for the main catalyst for Photo Negative’s story. At least…not in the end. And that’s one of the things that really makes the dark story here work. Things turn bloody, of course…but the final message of Photo Negative is a surprisingly inspiring one. In its way. If you can look past the imagery and violence and deception. There are things more important than money. Reaching that conclusion in a story as initially obsessed with it as Photo Negative is a rewarding surprise.
Photo Negative is a performance based story. It isn’t taking wild visual swings or presenting itself with a giant scope. It relies on its cast to drive its narrative forward. Rhoades and Notarianni make the couple as creepy as they can while keeping them grounded to reality. There is more to them than originally meets the eye…but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous to be around. Mayfield anchors the story around Jen…balancing personal and professional setbacks while quietly searching for a way out of both. The performances are the biggest reason that Photo Negative works. And the reason why the final resolution of the story (after the bloodshed) lands as strongly as it does.
Scare Value
Photo Negative doesn’t always feel like a horror movie in the classic sense…and that’s one of its strengths. It all feels way too realistic and relatable. Jen faces the same personal and professional struggles we all do on occasion…hers just feel like a trap with no way out. Especially when she seemingly turns into the slide and accepts a literal life altering job. But Jen is playing her own game and in control of more than first seems possible. Photo Negative ultimately decides that money isn’t everything…even if you don’t have it. And that’s a kind of happy ending.
