"Without Name" is one of those movies that I really didn't like at first glance. It was too intellectual and much too slow for my personal taste when I first watched it. But after a while I kept revisiting it because of its unique nature. It's a rather slow-paced horror movie and has its focus set on the supernatural.
The protagonist is a land-surveyor with a troubled marriage. The beginning of the movie is quite mundane and tries to showcase that the protagonist is just a regular guy who's doing his thing. But things change when he's sent on a special assignment. Without spoiling too much; he's supposed to measure a property that's located in a forest. But not just any forest; the one that the locals call "Goanim" (which is Welsh for "Without Name"). There are many myths about the forest and people claim that it's cursed but the protagonist doesn't seem to think much of it, initially.
As for the execution: the movie is deliberately slowed down to intensify the suspense of the horror. And I have to say, even though I criticized the pacing when I first watched it; it does work quite well in hindsight. We as the viewers know that things will eventually take a turn for the worse but we're never quite sure when. And that's ultimately where the movie shines. It manages to be terrifying because it's exploiting the most primal form of fear; the fear of the unknown. We don't know when things'll go south and we never really get to see the ghost. And yet it's evil presence is pervasive throughout the movie. Like a shadow, looming over the the protagonist's head.
It's really reminiscent of the movie "It Follows" in terms of the flair.
Do you know the feeling that you get when you think you're being watched? That's kind of the best way to describe this movie. It has that type of aura because the protagonist spends most of his time in the forest; feeling like he's being watched without being 100% certain about it. Doubts fester and his sanity degrades perpetually. The psychological tension is almost palpable.
To conclude: I really like this movie because it's so unique. There is no other horror movie quite like it. With that being said; it's also its biggest downside. If you don't like slow-paced movies this is probably not the movie for you. I mean, it's literally on the extreme end of the spectrum (on the slow end).
Final verdict: recommended (if you have the patience for it)
