"HERE BEFORE" // SXSW 2021
A strange connection looms over two neighborhood houses between a mother named Laura (Andrea Riseborough), still dealing with the loss of her daughter, and Megan (Niamh Dornan) the 10-year-old daughter of the family next door. It's a connection that Laura can't quite shake, especially after Megan starts reminding her more and more of her deceased daughter Josie. Megan seems to know things that only Josie would know. In the trash bin, Laura finds a picture Megan drew of her family, which strangely includes Laura's son Tadgh (Lewis McAskie) standing right next to her. Like her own big brother. She remembers places that Josie has been. Could Laura be imagining all of this? If she isn't, then how exactly does Megan know what she seems to know? And as she becomes more and more connected to the little girl, will she be able to separate the past and the present?
Stacey Gregg's evocative suspense thriller HERE BEFORE is a very effective and spooky story, with the misty views of Northern Ireland as a perfectly suited backdrop. The pace is slow and deliberate, but never too slow to lose your interest. Andrea Riseborough is great as the grieving mother. She gives a much needed weight to her performance, and her unraveling is both unsettling and gripping. As she begins to unravel, Gregg's film slowly unspools the mysteries within, allowing the audience to stay in suspense as long as possible. Her home is breaking apart as her past is coming to haunt her. So these strange occurances next door almost seem like a welcome distraction from the pain of her life, a haunting band-aid that may not be there to heal at all. As the mysterious girl next door, Niamh Dornan also turns in a fine performance, as does the rest of the supporting cast who add a mystery to each turn. The cinematography by Chloë Thomson is visually stunning, transporting you into an eerie nightmare of a family's past trauma. Both psychological thriller and otherworldly, HERE BEFORE will leave you unsettled in the best way.
GRADE: B+
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Stacey Gregg STARRING Andrea Riseborough, Jonjo O'Neill, Niamh Dornan, Lewis McAskie, Eileen O'Higgins, Martin McCann SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2021 SXSW FESTIVAL. FORE MORE INFO: HERE BEFORE