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After then years of non-talking, Jean Paul (Joe Adler) sends for his best friend from childhood Francis (Liam Aiken), as basically, he just needs a friend. Sure, he lives in a mansion inherited from his grandmother while Francis is technically homeless, but he really doesn't feel fit to go outside let alone meet strangers, he has no friends, and his twin sister Vivian (Annalise Basso), who lives with him, evades him the best he can, and according to Jean Paul, she's showing signs of insanity, so he demands that Francis to stay out of her way. However, during his stay at the house, Francis notices that things are actually not ok with Jean Paul, he suffers from memory loss, has delusional fits, and every now and again outbursts of violence. Also, Jean Paul seems to have built a wall around himself, so he and Francis find no common ground anymore other than games they played at kids, games nowadays only Jean Paul enjoys. Apart from all that, there's something creepy about the mansion, so much so that the man without a face living in one of the wardrobes Jean Paul has had a nightmare about might actually be real. So the longer he stays, the more everything is getting to Francis, as if Jean Paul was dragging him down with him. And when it seems things can't get any worse, Vivian dies ... or does she?

Now one doesn't have to be very well-versed in the works of Edgar Allan Poe to notice the similarities of this movie to Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher - but even if so, the film feels very modern in approach, with a focus on the psychological underpinnings of the story. But what really makes the movie is that it leaves much of its horror only in the shadows, totally avoids spectacle, and also refuses to over-explain, and maybe even actually explain things, all the backstory the characters might have is at best hinted at, and yet they feel well-rounded out, thanks to clever writing and strong performances. And the result of all this is one pleasently disturbing film indeed.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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