Evan finds himself alone after the death of his parents. His life in a mess, he flees to Italy to find solace, and meets enigmatic beauty Louise. But his new girlfriend is not what she seems.
Genre: Horror, Supernatural Romance
Starring: Lou Taylor Pucci, Nadia Hilker
Director: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Not a traditional horror movie in many respects, this film has more body horror than jump scares or body counts. It’s also not a run of the mill supernatural romance either. No teenage love triangles, wolves or battle scenes here.
This film is more about the process of grieving and finding yourself after losing everything, and about what really matters, our connections with others. Evan, played by Lou Taylor Pucci, seems like a really nice guy. For a lot of the movie, you worry that this lost soul might have gotten in over his head with something evil and dark (played by Nadia Hilker) that may want to kill him. But Louise seems taken with her new admirer, and we see her fighting what she’s becoming with medication and ritual. Can love triumph over disaster? What is Louise really? Is she good or bad?
Much like his previous film Resolution (2012), Justin Benson (along with collaborator Aaron Moorhead) likes to use horror elements, but rely on pacing, story and character to create interesting twists on genre and defy expectation. His films so far are really interesting, subtle and have moments of banter and sadness that elevate them above the cheap horror genre. Although the film has a few flaws, dwelling on Evan’s travel time to Italy rather than getting on with the story, and a use of drone shots that feels very much for the sake of it… the film works as a whole, and should please horror fans and other movie goers.
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