One of the only three films showing under the Cult strand this year (usually my favoured strand along with Laugh); we’ve had one and we’ll be getting the other.
Rose: A Love Story
Dir. Jennifer Sheridan / Dur. 86 mins
Strand:- Cult
In A Nutshell:- Sam cares for Rose in a sheltered cabin in the woods, doing his best to help her with the strange and mysterious illness which keeps them isolated…
The Good:- It’s not spoiling anything to say that this is a nice reversal on the standard vampire tale. Here, Sam is devoted to his wife Rose and does everything in his power to keep her safe and the condition which could result in his death if allowed to rage unchecked under control. It’s an assured first film from first time director Jennifer Sheridan and first time writer Matt Stokoe (who also stars as Sam). Stokoe and Sophie Rundle as Rose have a believable chemistry and there’s a genuineness to the husband - wife relationship that is often missing in a lot of films. There’s a pleasing lack of exposition as you’re left to work out the specifics of their life together as they go about it, with a script that is surprisingly confident for a first time feature writer. There’s also a nice little link for fans of the TV series Misfits which Stokoe starred in as his co-star Nathan McMullen briefly appears.
The Bad:- If I have a criticism, it’s that, after a film which is about atmosphere and crafting slow-burn tension and suspense around their predicament, the ending feels almost too abrupt and makes it feel weirdly anti-climactic after the build up.
The Verdict:- Another in the line of smarter horror films that we’ve been seeing over recent years in which atmosphere and suspense are the order of the day rather than jumps, gore and scares. Definitely worth checking out for a slow burn dose of horror.
No comments:
Post a Comment