The Wind -- A Slow-Burning Western Psychological Horror
Name: The Wind
Directed By: Emma Tammi
Subgenre: Western Supernatural/Psychological
Series: Spooktober 2021 entry #19; review #112
Review: Netflix has quite a few decent-looking horror entries this year, but The Wind caught my eye for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the name: wind is my favorite of the four classical elements (despite being sorted into House Hufflepuff); while fishy monsters frequent the abyssal depths, demons and devils and other burning things muck about in fire and brimstone, and terrifying creatures burrow beneath the earth, horror films celebrating things that might lurk in the clouds above or in the invisible winds are comparatively few and far between. Secondly, I like the poster: a plains-woman stands alone against a ghastly, ethereal figure--it's super evocative! Not surprisingly, this gun-toting lass is the film's main character, Lizzy. The film opens cold with Lizzy standing in the threshold to her cabin, her hands soaked in blood and cradling a hidden-faced baby, the look on her own face erasing all hope we might have had for the infant. We eventually learn that the baby belonged to Lizzy's new neighbor--a relative rarity in their windswept plains--and Mrs. Emma didn't survive the night either. We bounce backwards in time to see Lizzy and her husband eking out a life of their own before Emma and her husband arrived: life was hard on the plains, even more so in going it alone. Even before Emma and Gideon arrive, we see Lizzy struggling against some unseen thing. This struggle runs parallel to her own struggles managing the cabin, often isolated and alone for days at a time. Lizzy's a competent woman, however, and when Emma and Gideon arrive and almost immediately need help adjusting, we see Lizzy's frustration fray, her demeanor darken. And that's before Emma introduces Lizzy to her pamphlet on demons. The story darts between past, future, and present in a dizzying array of unreliable narration; we never quite know what's truly besetting Lizzy, but we do know that her struggles are continuing to escalate. Unfortunately, however, The Wind just didn't connect with me. It's a beautiful film, with the sweeping plains captured in their immaculate expanses in the daylight hours contrasting against the blanket of utterly dark night. The acting is competent and compelling enough, and the mystery of it all is intriguing--yet, between the darting timelines, the unreliable narration, and the occasionally plodding pacing, unraveling the true story of Lizzy's plight became more exhausting than exhilarating. In a way, the film is similar in theme to Saint Maud: a woman's faith is challenged, and her isolation only exacerbates her dark, creeping struggles; however, where Maud is desperately groping for something greater, Lizzy is capable, pragmatic, and just wants to survive--and yet we see how truly, insidiously powerful isolation can be against even the stoutest of souls. So, why didn't I like it? Besides the previously mentioned issue with the way the story is presented, I was simply hoping for something different; I set my expectations and, when they weren't met, I was left disappointed. Is that the film's fault? Absolutely not, but knowing my own and calling out my own biases doesn't shield the film from the other criticisms, either. If you're able to look past--or better appreciate--a tale of a strong woman succumbing to invisible, oppressive forces portrayed in a disjointed timeline that slowly, methodically comes together, then you might enjoy The Wind more than I did--and I hope that you do! I just wish they hadn't brought demons into the mix--I'm tired of demons. But hey, what do I know?
Comments
Post a Comment