Director: Edoardo Vitaletti
Year: 2021
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Plot:
After a tragic accident at her family house, a woman recounts the events of what happened to her rescuers about how her relationship with the family maid started a string of events leading to a terrifying ordeal with a terrifying encounter with deadly forces aroused by their actions and how it went down.
Review:
This was a rather impressive and enjoyable effort with a lot to like about it. One of the strongest factors present here is the highly impressive setup that manages to bring about old-school Puritanical values and superstition with fantastic supernatural genre leanings. The central premise for the way of life shown here, with the strict religious bringing and outright disgust at the thought of lesbianism or other such signs of affection taking place for fear of reprisal from the elders creates quite an impressive counterpoint to the religious paranoia experienced by the rest of the villagers. Shamed into following the will of their law and brutally tortured for failing to comply, the mindset featured here to live in the village is one of oppression and religious persecution that flies in direct contradiction to their freedom living in sin against their wishes.
Likewise, once they set the plan in motion to flee their setup and live a more open, freer lifestyle, the persecution and oppression has given way for outright intolerance as the hints of what they’re doing start to take shape. The stranger’s arrival and almost immediate sketchy behavior and presence that start to interrupt what’s happening during the silent funeral being carried out at the same time, signaling a sign of what’s to come later on. When they bring upon the plan to cut everyone off and attempt to sneak away for their own lives, this one generates some dark and chilling aspects that become quite fun with the poisoning attempt coming off with some fine twists as to who gets the drugs and who doesn’t, a surprise appearance from an unwelcome party and the final reveal which manages to be highly unexpected and satisfying finale which all makes for a lot to like here.
There are a few issues to be had with this one. The main issue here is the strangely unneeded reasoning for why the guy comes back at the end of the film for no purpose which is quite weird and unexplained. The idea of it happening is quite confusing considering the treatment afforded to him that initially caused him to leave, and with the return later on to the house, his arrival means absolutely nothing. He does nothing important that couldn’t have been accomplished by something else so his arrival means something. On top of that, he just disappears from the film as a whole without any acknowledgment or punishment, making this part of the film quite questionable and confusing. While not a true outright flaw, the films’ really sluggish pace and drama tempo over shocks, scares, or thrills might leave some questioning its genre placement overall with the potential of it being seen as dull, can hold this one back for some.
Overview: ****/5
While there’s a lot to like with the general atmosphere and setup present in this one, it does have a few issues here that do hold this one back slightly which does stick out on this one. Give it a look if you’re a fan of these kinds of films or intrigued by the concept at play, while those who prefer more of a straightforward and obvious genre effort should heed caution.
This review ran as part of our coverage of the 2021 Fantasia International Film Festival. Click the banner below to check out all of our coverage, including reviews and interviews, from the event:
Comments
Post a Comment