I'd spotted a trailer for this film by director Mark MacNicol, dated to 2022 (according to Amazon, at time of writing undated on IMDb), and I had my interest tweaked as there seemed to be reaction to sunlight and a mention of the “V” word in the trailer.
What I watched was a taut, well shot thriller that touched into horror but, rather than go down the lines of gore, actually masterfully invoked an intensifying sense of the uncanny through its running time.
After an intriguing montage of scenes as the film opens, involving close shots of the grooming of a horse, we meet a father (Adam Robertson) and his daughter, Michelle (Rachel Flynn). She sits in front of a television which shows Nosferatu – the Vampyre as she recites the dialogue along with the film. This, of course, ties the film to the genre immediately and it is an interesting choice to use Herzog’s remake rather than the original film. To my mind it immediately helps invoke the sense of the uncanny that the vampire often represents.
The incongruity of her, close to the TV, pulling her hoody up as he moves the curtains (despite it being night), and her rocking slightly backwards and forwards, matches the oddness of his actions as he says he is going to wash and strips in the kitchen and washes in the sink. Her action, hiding as the curtains threaten to allow a potential light into the room, also reminds us of the vampire, that connection underlined by the film she watches. He says that he is going to look for *him* again (their dog vanished three days before) and she goes with him but they part ways when she exclaims that the dog isn’t coming back.
He gets to the indoor school of the stables he owns. A client who has been in for lessons, Jen (Kirsty Strain), is there and they make small talk. As he leaves, she says that she doesn’t normally do this but she has a message for him. With him confused, she explains that she is a medium and he reacts badly, accusing her of preying on the vulnerable and they part angrily. He has reacted that way because he has recently lost his wife to cancer and both him and Michelle seem to be coping poorly. He won’t go upstairs as it reminds him of her – hence washing in the kitchen sink and weeing in the garden.
For her part she has what the doctors believe is Heliophobia – a fear of light (sunlight in particular). However she goes further than that and, at one point, we see her use lotion on her hands because, she says, she forgot her gloves and she now has a rash. At one point he does make a barbed comment about her acting like a vampire. However, he starts to think there is something odd going on, especially when she threatens to kill herself but says “I’ll kill her” as though a third party refers to her body. In desperation he turns to Jen, asking forgiveness for his rudeness and desperate for her help…
There isn’t much more to mention and to go further would spoil the film. There is a nice, deliberately built sense of the uncanny with Rachel Flynn’s performance really at the heart of it. Yes there is a freaky makeup moment but it is some of the quickly switched expressions that underpin the performance, with her offering at times sinister moments. But all three primaries make this work. There are scenes that sway the viewer to believe there is a psychosis (perhaps with both father and daughter), with the presence of Jen a reminder that there might be something more supernatural at play. Ultimately the vampire connections just help build that sense of the uncanny and frame the horror of the story in a familiar context, but this is a film worth watching.
The imdb page is here.
On Demand @ Amazon US
On Demand @ Amazon UK
What I watched was a taut, well shot thriller that touched into horror but, rather than go down the lines of gore, actually masterfully invoked an intensifying sense of the uncanny through its running time.
 |
| Rachel Flynn as Michelle |
After an intriguing montage of scenes as the film opens, involving close shots of the grooming of a horse, we meet a father (Adam Robertson) and his daughter, Michelle (Rachel Flynn). She sits in front of a television which shows Nosferatu – the Vampyre as she recites the dialogue along with the film. This, of course, ties the film to the genre immediately and it is an interesting choice to use Herzog’s remake rather than the original film. To my mind it immediately helps invoke the sense of the uncanny that the vampire often represents.
 |
| hiding from the light |
The incongruity of her, close to the TV, pulling her hoody up as he moves the curtains (despite it being night), and her rocking slightly backwards and forwards, matches the oddness of his actions as he says he is going to wash and strips in the kitchen and washes in the sink. Her action, hiding as the curtains threaten to allow a potential light into the room, also reminds us of the vampire, that connection underlined by the film she watches. He says that he is going to look for *him* again (their dog vanished three days before) and she goes with him but they part ways when she exclaims that the dog isn’t coming back.
 |
| Kirsty Strain as Jen |
He gets to the indoor school of the stables he owns. A client who has been in for lessons, Jen (Kirsty Strain), is there and they make small talk. As he leaves, she says that she doesn’t normally do this but she has a message for him. With him confused, she explains that she is a medium and he reacts badly, accusing her of preying on the vulnerable and they part angrily. He has reacted that way because he has recently lost his wife to cancer and both him and Michelle seem to be coping poorly. He won’t go upstairs as it reminds him of her – hence washing in the kitchen sink and weeing in the garden.
 |
| Adam Robertson as the dad |
For her part she has what the doctors believe is Heliophobia – a fear of light (sunlight in particular). However she goes further than that and, at one point, we see her use lotion on her hands because, she says, she forgot her gloves and she now has a rash. At one point he does make a barbed comment about her acting like a vampire. However, he starts to think there is something odd going on, especially when she threatens to kill herself but says “I’ll kill her” as though a third party refers to her body. In desperation he turns to Jen, asking forgiveness for his rudeness and desperate for her help…
 |
| manic |
There isn’t much more to mention and to go further would spoil the film. There is a nice, deliberately built sense of the uncanny with Rachel Flynn’s performance really at the heart of it. Yes there is a freaky makeup moment but it is some of the quickly switched expressions that underpin the performance, with her offering at times sinister moments. But all three primaries make this work. There are scenes that sway the viewer to believe there is a psychosis (perhaps with both father and daughter), with the presence of Jen a reminder that there might be something more supernatural at play. Ultimately the vampire connections just help build that sense of the uncanny and frame the horror of the story in a familiar context, but this is a film worth watching.
The imdb page is here.
On Demand @ Amazon US
On Demand @ Amazon UK
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