The Horror (2015)

There are very few films being made that seem to give a fresh approach to a genre. There are fewer still that are more than happy to do what they are going to do and to hell with the audience. Its going to do what it wants to and if you get it great, if not too bad.  THE HORROR is just that sort of a film. Its a film that shakes up the horror genre and doesn't seem to care if you get it or not.

THE HORROR simply put is the story of two twins who not long after the death of their parents go to the family's lake house to close it up for the season. Unfortunately while they are there some very bad things happen. A year later both are trying to deal with the aftermath of what happened.

The key to clicking with this film is going along with the way the story is told. Part found footage film, part confession to a shrink, part real time event and part flash back the film jumbles things up to the point where you have to work with it to fill in details and make sense of what you are seeing. I was confused at the start when what I thought was a kind of home invasion story begins with an attempt to call ghosts on a haunted bridge. I was wondering where this is going and if the people who sent me the film for review had sent me the wrong film.

They hadn't.

THE HORROR is a film that knows the story it is telling and it uses the fractured story telling to create a mood of dread and uncertainty. For much of the film there isn't horror so much as suspense and a nervous curiosity about what is going to happen next...or is it about what happened in the past? I'm not quite sure.

To be honest I'm not quite sure what I think of the film. This the type of film that you have to get through to the end before you realize what is going on. And while I'm intrigued enough about the film that I am planning on watching it again to see what I didn't catch the first time, I'm still not sure- and I mean that in a good way- how I really feel about the film. Its the sort of feeling I get when I see a film that I know is going to hang with me for a good long time,  It is one of the more intriguing horror films to run across my path in a good long while and I'm thrilled for that

That said, I know this film is not for all audiences. Its odd structure and pacing is not going to work for some people. I know if you want your horror films to go a certain way you are going to hate it. As much as the horror genre is a wide open one as far as what you can do with it, I find that many people tend to drift to certain sub genres because they have certain rhythms which appeal to them. Slasher films go one way, satanic films another, and some fans need things to go that way or else they  hate the experience- they need their fright controlled, visceral,  not cerebral and if you mess it up they can't handle the scares. They need the story to be one thing. THE HORROR isn't anyone's one thing.

Uncertainty on my part or no, this is a film very recommended for the adventurous film goer or anyone who wants their horror far from safe

The VHS release of The Horror ($20) will exclusively include an introduction by Jerry White III and a digital download of the film. VHX downloads of The Horror ($5) can be played on any home entertainment system, as well as Roku, AppleTV, Android, iOS, Chromecast, AirPlay and more.
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