Director: Fabrice Blin
Year: 2023
Country: France
Alternate Titles: La Chose derrière la porte
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After losing her husband, a grieving widow is left alone on their farmhouse to tend to the property where she’s led through a series of occult rituals by the ghost of her husband to try to revive him from the dead, but when she suspects something is wrong tries to stop the otherworldly horror she’s unleashed.
Review:
Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable genre effort. Among the more enjoyable features of this one is the central storyline in place here that provides a fantastic atmosphere for the hauntings to come. Setting it during the First World War and keeping the action focused on the central farmhouse where she lives manages to imbue a thrilling sense of isolation and loneliness, perfect for the potential to grow into the inability to determine the difference between reality and the hallucinations that come. Longing for her husband’s return and guided by the dreams and visions she has but unable to do much of anything about it, the gradual discovery of what he’s trying to do and growing more concerned that she’s being led astray into the occult realm.
That setup ties in nicely with the revelation of what she’s conjured up and contacted in the occult realm and provides the second half of this one with quite a lot of fun. After initially starting with the ghostly visions of him and the proclamations about finding the book to start the proper ritual, this leads to the solid interactions between them depicting the change in behavior he exhibits that becomes quite chilling with the growing belief he’s something or someone else entirely. That becomes a significant factor in the final half where the reanimated bodies that had been the purpose of it all come out and provide no shortage of chases and confrontations filled with scenes of the frightening creatures coming out to attack and getting repelled that are all really exciting and thrilling, giving the film overall quite a lot to like.
There isn’t much to dislike here as there’s one slight issue. The main drawback to the film is that the shorter running time featured here means that this is rushed through multiple storylines and sequences rather than taking the time to have it spelled out. With us rushing to find the sacred book and magically knowing the ceremonial ritual here with no context or anything else brought up as to what’s going on, it leaves us lost as to what’s happening as we’re immediately hit with the death during the War, the finding of the book and then her performing the ceremony not even a half-hour into the film so it can feel somewhat confusing to keep track of things and their purpose. Luckily, this isn’t a significant issue but does come up from this one that holds it back.
Overview: ****/5
A highly enjoyable genre effort hurt by a minor issue, there's quite a lot to like with this one that manages to hold it up quite well without much in the way of true genre flaws. Those that appreciate this kind of Lovecraftian-style genre effort or are intrigued by the film overall should give it a shot while most others that don't enjoy this approach should heed caution.
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