The phrase ‘style over substance’ tends to get a bit
overused in critical circles. Usually, it’s applied to films that are far more
interested (or at least are perceived to be more interested) in
showcasing cinematic style and craftsmanship over deeper textual or subtextual
meaning. On its own, there’s really nothing wrong with it as a label or even as
an artistic practice; hell, my favourite film of all time is very much style
over substance, and that’s one of the reasons I like it so damn much. But then
there are the occasional films that embody the phrase in a different manner.
Films where both the style and the substance have equal work being put into
them, but where one ends up succeeding the other for one reason or another.
Unfortunately, this film fits into that category.
If you’re the kind of horror moviegoer who favours
atmosphere over cheap jump scares, this film will certainly give you your fill.
While peppered with a lot of incredibly forceful and visceral imagery (this
might be one of the most suicide-fixated horror films I’ve covered on here),
most of its efficacy comes not from outright shock but from creeping dread.
It’s the story of two children, played by Lia McHugh and Jaeden Martell, who
end up in a remote New England cabin with their prospective stepmother Grace,
played by Riley Keough in a career highlight turn.
Throughout, it follows in a similar mode to the directors’
previous effort with Goodnight Mommy, to the point where if I spelled out all
the similarities, I’d end up giving away the film’s bigger developments and
twists. But to keep things more general, it’s a slow-burning piece of
psycho-horror where the chills come out of not knowing who within the main
group of characters the audience is supposed to vibe with. If we’re meant to vibe
with any of them in the first place. Between the kids dealing with familial
grief, and Grace’s childhood history with a religious cult, there’s a lot of
mental fractures to be found here. And in keeping with Goodnight Mommy,
appearances can be quite deceiving as far as what suffices for ‘reality’ within
the titular Lodge.
However, while the film does well with its thematic material
at first, especially in showing the traumatic damage of religious fanaticism
that makes for some quite heartbreaking moments with Grace, I can’t shake the
feeling that I’m basically watching Goodnight Mommy’s shadow. Not just because
the themes are mostly the same as in that film (if that was my only gripe, I
would’ve chewed out The Lighthouse for similar reasons), but because they feel lesser
this time around. The plot is a lot more nebulous, and the characters are far
less consistent in terms of likability and even personality at times. It really
feels like the filmmakers put all their stock into the atmosphere, and let
everything else come second.
Of course, when you’re dealing with a film all about mental
illness intersected with literal holier-than-thou manipulation, the notion that
what we’re seeing is just a means to an atmospheric end is a little… cheap?
Exploitative, maybe? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to dust off the Lights
Out soapbox again, but when the story doesn’t do enough to pay off all the
highly-loaded imagery it presents, it can feel a bit manipulative in its own
right.
Not to mention derivative, between the frequent use of
dollhouse miniatures (Hereditary), the narrative of a family going insane in a
secluded wintry cabin (The Shining, not helped by Kubrick devotee Thimios
Bakatakis’ cinematography), and flat-out showing scenes from Carpenter’s The
Thing just to hammer home that we’re watching people stuck in the middle of the
snow and not knowing if they can trust anyone else inside with them.
I definitely feel credit is due for just how bleak this
film’s entire aesthetic is, its moments where the themes of how cruelty affects
the afflicted really sank in, and after seeing her steal the show repeatedly in
past supporting roles, it was honestly really damn gratifying to see Riley Keough
absolutely nail a more central role in a film. But when there are
shimmers of something even greater lurking within, not to mention how the film
starts on a high then slowly but steadily declines for the rest of the run time,
there’s only so much that the mood can override for me. It’s not a bad movie by
any stretch, but between its potential and its pool of influences, it’s a
pretty disappointing one.
No comments:
Post a Comment