THE WIND IN THE WINDOW // A FILM REVIEW OF "MARTYRS LANE"
The fear and longing of being 10 years old and having a disconnect with a parent is something many of us can relate to. Leah (Kiera Thompson) is experiencing just that, feeling alone and lost in her own home. Her mother Sarah (Denise Gough) gets angry over the smallest of things. When Leah is given a cake at church and brings it home, she nearly yells at her and then tosses it in the trash. Her father is more attentive but also is incredible busy as a pastor of his local parish. The past is haunting her mother, both while she's awake and through nightmares at night. Leah doesn't know what it is, so she's left guessing in the dark. Her older sister Bex (Hannah Rae) is heading off to college, furthering the feeling that Leah is completely alone. That is until a young girl (Sienna Sayer) wearing wings around her back and doesn't remember her own name, shows up at her window one night. They become fast friends, playing the game "Two truths, one lie," and this continues night after night.
MARTYRS LANE is a slow-burn, eerie gothic horror film whose atmosphere is a character within itself. It's a film that moves slowly, softly and carefully placing moments in front of the viewer to digest and make sense of. Even before the film tells you who the young girl is, it's quite easy to figure out. But the way writer/director Ruth Platt has crafted her film, the fact that you almost immediately know that mystery doesn't change the eerie experience of the film. The circumstances around what happened in the past of this family is kept as a slow reveal and each nights visit from the angel winged girl brings further and further clues. The details if the mystery girl is something good or something much darker stays blurred but continuingly teases throughout the film. Setting the point of view from Leah is a smart choice, as the mystery is a slow burn for herself as well as the audience. Leah needs to understand her family & their the loss and once the pieces of a mystery is laid in front of her, her compulsion to solve it overcomes her. Kiera Thompson gives an excellent performance as does Sienne Sayer. They have a great rapport and these two child actors really shine, cementing this film with a true uneasiness. Denise Gough's performance is broken and bruised and she is illuminating in her heartbreak. A true horror story of love and grief, one that that is well directed, well-paced and is truly creepy and effective.
GRADE: B+
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Ruth Platt STARRING Kiera Thompson, Denise Gough, Steven Cree, Hannah Rae, Sienna Sayer. STREAMING EXCLUSIVELY ON SHUDDER BEGINNING SEP 9TH. FOR MORE INFO: MARTYRS LANE