This is a bizarre film that doesn't quite fit into the genre of thriller, horror, or drama. It is quite different, but the storyline is quite clever, it does keep you on the edge of your seat, and is certainly worth a watch.
Having watched only a few South African films, I was curious to give it a go. I loved the setting, particularly the outdoors which reminded me a bit of a rural Aussie landscape. The interaction between the black and white characters was quite intriguing, and led me to ask questions.
The story is well set up, beginning with horse riding, drone footage of the beautiful South African terrain, with a wistful song playing over. This very strong opening was beautifully shot and edited. Throughout the cinematography doesn't disappoint, truly stunning visuals, with a great score. The choice of colour palette fully supported the visuals, however, I wasn't really a fan of the monochrome used later in the film and found it distracting.
The acting works well for a psychological drama, and the scripting created a monster. I don't think I've ever seen a coked-up narcissist like Panos in a film on that level. And a psycho, though at times his performance was OTT, I felt he executed a difficult role extremely well. It was quite intriguing to watch him throughout. One can only feel for the wife and sadly misguided daughter who I was particularly taken with. Keira, the wife, was a typical victim eroded by years of abuse and I thought she was convincing in this role. Totally believable. The Gunther character was an interesting element, and reminded me of a classic foreign film characterisation.
However, a few of the performances were not great. I didn't really buy the cops as South African police, and the performances at the African home scene. At times, other performances lacked grit and were somewhat confusing.
The story started slowly, developed in tempo after the crossing of the first threshold, then relief when the threat was removed, until the next unexpected onslaught, which was I thought, quite clever. That twist at the end I didn't see coming, that was great, I felt some satisfaction there.
Definitely worth a watch, a film that left me with many questions, but maybe that was the intention of the director? All in all, a well executed foreign film.
