Night Moves
Identity, loneliness and murder are just a few of the topics featured in Elbert van Strien’s psychological thriller, Two Eyes Staring. Set in contemporary Belgium, the film follows 9 year old Lisa (Isabelle Stokkel) and her family as they first inherit and then move into a very spooky old mansion and soon realise that they’re not alone, as Lisa befriends the vengeful and mysterious spirit of ‘the girl in the cellar’, Karen (Charlotte Arnoldy).
Billed as ‘Holland’s scariest movie since The Vanishing’, van Strien’s work showcases an enviable flair for the chilling whilst presenting an altogether different study of a modern family under emotional strain. And it’s the use of the troubled family unit, specifically the strained relationship between Lisa and her mother, that makes Two Eyes Staring so compelling, as the portrayal of the effects of a dark and unknown family secret, and its dramatic discovery create an understandable platform for the film’s most dramatic scenes. But whilst the characters and their back stories are believable, the piece is let down by its relatively slow narrative and predictable plot twist, which made a carefully constructed thriller fall into cliché and brought it to its rather unsatisfying and sudden conclusion.
Showing @ Cameo, 17th and 22nd of June, 22:45, 22:30
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