I decided to watch the movie despite the low ranking on Amazon, so I was prepared for a potential let down. Going into the movie I was actually completely sucked into the atmosphere. Good music, a terrific landscape, relatable characters. Moving on, it kept getting better and better: When the woman went for a walk, the relieving atmosphere slowly turned into a haunted, mysterious one. I felt the woman's fear turning into panic and I was gripped myself. It was beautifully done and very scary.
Turning point: I think at was at that moment when a man completely disappeared in front of her in a matter of a second when the light cut off for that the movie broke down for me. That could not happen in reality and in my head it was clear to me from then on that either it's all in her head or the movie just decided to become incoherent and 'artsy'. From that moment, it went on and on with the implausible elements and the house, which was the woman's - as well as the viewer's - safe place, was not safe anymore. The logic broke down and with it the reason for me to hope that the woman locked the back door, the windows etc. The evil don't need to find a way in, for it can just appear wherever it wants.
That being said. I could split the movie into two pieces, the first and the second half, and rate the first half 9 stars and the second half 2 stars. That would be a rather shallow approach because the 2 stars result in me not having adopted to the new environment of the movie's second half. I believe it's not failing to keep up with the structure of the first half of the movie, but instead it switches from an external point of view to an internal, phenomenological/experiential point of view. Everything we see is the purely subjective experience of the protagonist. It's a psychological journey, therefore it is by necessity incoherent and symbolic. The three men who continuously give birth to one another portray a symbolic process of a mind trying to process (traumatic) significant experiences and eventually integrate them.
This is probably my longest review, yet. After having slept a night over it, I felt drawn to express it in some detail instead of simply giving a high or low ranking in this case. I guess, I needed to reflect on and integrate this experience for myself throughout this review. Trust your gut whether to watch this. Enjoy your watch!
Turning point: I think at was at that moment when a man completely disappeared in front of her in a matter of a second when the light cut off for that the movie broke down for me. That could not happen in reality and in my head it was clear to me from then on that either it's all in her head or the movie just decided to become incoherent and 'artsy'. From that moment, it went on and on with the implausible elements and the house, which was the woman's - as well as the viewer's - safe place, was not safe anymore. The logic broke down and with it the reason for me to hope that the woman locked the back door, the windows etc. The evil don't need to find a way in, for it can just appear wherever it wants.
That being said. I could split the movie into two pieces, the first and the second half, and rate the first half 9 stars and the second half 2 stars. That would be a rather shallow approach because the 2 stars result in me not having adopted to the new environment of the movie's second half. I believe it's not failing to keep up with the structure of the first half of the movie, but instead it switches from an external point of view to an internal, phenomenological/experiential point of view. Everything we see is the purely subjective experience of the protagonist. It's a psychological journey, therefore it is by necessity incoherent and symbolic. The three men who continuously give birth to one another portray a symbolic process of a mind trying to process (traumatic) significant experiences and eventually integrate them.
This is probably my longest review, yet. After having slept a night over it, I felt drawn to express it in some detail instead of simply giving a high or low ranking in this case. I guess, I needed to reflect on and integrate this experience for myself throughout this review. Trust your gut whether to watch this. Enjoy your watch!