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Playhouse
UK 2020
produced by Fionn Watts, Toby Watts for Far North Film
directed by Fionn Watts, Toby Watts
starring William Holstead, Grace Courtney, Helen Mackay, James Rottger, Rebecca Calienda, Eilidh McLaughlin, Mathilde Darmady, Julie Higginson
written by Fionn Watts, Toby Watts, music by Dan Baboulene
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Young and cynical Bee (Grace Courtney) has moved to a castle in the
middle of nowhere, Scotland, with her father, Jack (William Holstead), a
writer who has chosen exactly this spot of land for inspiration, as he
wants to turn the actual history/legend of the castle into an immersive
play. Of course, he tells none of the rather gruesome stories surrounding
the castle to Bee - stories about a walled up boy having struck a deal
with the devil to get revenge on his tormenters, and ultimately all
humankind -, leaving her to find out from two mischievious girls (Eilidh
McLaughlin, Mathilde Darmady) from school. And of course the story freaks
her out a bit, especially since the wall the boy's supposed to be behind
is still here, and when she touches it on a dare, it gives her a jolt. Jack
and Bee's next door neighbours Jenny (Helen Mackay) and Callum (James
Rottger) come over for dinner one evening, and it's an even that leaves
them all changed: Bee disappears from the face of the earth thereafter,
Jack shows increasing signs of either possession or madness (it's really a
matter of interpretation), Callum is so fascinated by Jack that he wants
to give everything up and also become a writer, while Jenny reveals the
walled up boy was actually one of her relations, and she has actually
moved here from the city to make peace with her own past. However,
presently it seems it shouldn't be the past to worry her but the
here-and-now ... Now true, the plot of Playhouse is quite
far-fetches, even for a horror movie, doesn't always make perfect sense
and at times seems to jump around a bit without giving all scenes proper
resolutions - but that's hardly the point as this one's much more an
exercise in atmosphere, located somehwere on the crossroads between ghost
story, possession thriller and mystery, and as such it works rather
nicely, not only thanks to great locations, wonderfully moody camerawork
and strong performances by all involved, but also thanks to a narrative
approach that really pushes things forward rather relentlessly, and a
dynamic directorial effort that only supports that. And really, that not
everything's resolved in the end only adds to the creepiness of the thing.
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