The truly brilliant film is built upon a mood of mystery and suspense that I would not wish to breach by revealing the plot too much. It tells the story of a wealthy mother and her two sons who experience an immense tragedy together. Their isolation in the remoteness of wealth is a major element because the events that transpire are perhaps less believable in normal society. Certainly this tragedy could never have occurred in the past when society was stronger and more communal.
But it is the plausibility of the story today that gives it the greatest power. However unusual these circumstances might appear there can be no doubt that such mistreatment, such grief and such insensitivity towards others can and does occur. And the results of such a nightmare are mostly terrible.
This is not a horror film in the standard sense. There are some gory scenes but they are entirely in context with the drama and not at all contrived for pointless spectacle. The horror here lies in the mental state that tragedy brings upon its victims. It is a nightmare for all involved. And the horror for us is realizing that black and white, right and wrong and good and evil become very blurred when reality is fully examined.
Lovers of serious drama should certainly watch this film intently. The ending is both dramatic and strangely poetic. But it is not at all clear rather like the truth of any tragedy. If you like standard escapist horror for entertainment then go somewhere else. This is too close to the core of our Psyche.
But it is the plausibility of the story today that gives it the greatest power. However unusual these circumstances might appear there can be no doubt that such mistreatment, such grief and such insensitivity towards others can and does occur. And the results of such a nightmare are mostly terrible.
This is not a horror film in the standard sense. There are some gory scenes but they are entirely in context with the drama and not at all contrived for pointless spectacle. The horror here lies in the mental state that tragedy brings upon its victims. It is a nightmare for all involved. And the horror for us is realizing that black and white, right and wrong and good and evil become very blurred when reality is fully examined.
Lovers of serious drama should certainly watch this film intently. The ending is both dramatic and strangely poetic. But it is not at all clear rather like the truth of any tragedy. If you like standard escapist horror for entertainment then go somewhere else. This is too close to the core of our Psyche.