By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Jamie Hooper
Starring: David Horovitch | Jane Lowe | Phillipa Peak | Riann Steele | Sophie Thompson | Taliyah Blair
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2022
Running time: 94
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10929458/reference/
Brett says: “With a rather forgettable title, the plot of this supernatural thriller is also at risk of being lost in the shuffle of other films in this shared horror sub-genre. Set in the 1980s with occasional flashbacks, a 30-something granddaughter of a woman with dementia returns to a familiar childhood estate to assume a shared role as caregiver to the ailing woman. A mysterious presence tied to the granddaughter’s childhood and a family secret begins to manifest, and the search for answers ensues.
“The entire plot of this one is standard fare for a movie of its type. All of the scares, reveals, and background plot elements to support what’s going on are right out of the supernatural horror playbook. The pacing, music, and arrangement of shots all color within the lines of what’s to be expected as well. Despite this, the film is very proficient at what it offers. For newcomers/possibly young people with not as many films of this type in their viewing library, this could be a film of discovery that is actually quite effective and entertaining.
“One of the things I appreciate the most about the film is the time setting and something that I’ve longed for horror movies to adopt more often. Although the film is set in the 1980s primarily, this is not a film that pays a lot of attention to itself as a period piece. The fashion, trends, and nostalgia of that time period are not a factor in any way. The purpose of the time period is simply to eliminate the reliance on cell phones and internet search engines and the wide array of information and history we have available to us at our fingertips that would spoil the mystery and atmosphere of this film. Finally, I am able to see a film that is content with taking place in a different setting only to prevent modern conveniences from interfering. Certainly, other films have used this as a device, but I always find some distracting cultural add-on that draws too much attention to the time setting. The 1980s is altogether irrelevant in this one, and that’s just the way it should be done more often. 2 cats out of 5“