The Wind

The trailer already made me feel like I'm gonna like this - and I did. I love and respect folk horror movies & I think this has all the qualities to belong to that subgenre, even though it's a western.

"The Wind" possesses many qualities - a strong lead performance, decent, on-point-bleak cinematography and crafty editing, an ambiguous (I enjoy ambiguous horror movies) and twisty plot, very fitting original score & eerie, isolated atmosphere. Those were the reasons Why I liked it, so what were the flaws? Honestly, I can't quite pin them down, put it in words. It might the be fact that, ultimately, it offers nothing new or that the chills weren't ... chilly enough. Like, for example, "The Witch", which I find similar in some ways, is a more effective movie. At least for me. Whatever the flaws are, nothing stuck out to me, it's just that objectively this is neither a masterpiece or the best horror movie of the year.

If You like modern folk horror movies, bleak, atmospheric movies or ambiguous plots, be sure to give this a watch - it deserves more attention. I'm interested to see what's next from this director. My rating: 7/10.

The Wind will clearly not entice every audience. Its pacing is a slowly-drawn curtain, and its story allows the question posed in many horror films: Is the light from the sun's rise or setting?

More plainly, is the horror psychological or supernatural?

Not everyone appreciates these tactics in film-making and, while both are right up my alley, I won't blame others for losing patience. I should've also identified the non-linear storytelling from the jump as well, as that part actually does sap my personal enjoyment a tad. It's not hard to follow, yet a well-told chronological series of events tends to flow better, even if it doesn't hide a proverbial ace up its sleeve as well.

But those aren't the burning issues I take with The Wind. It's one thing to have a serviceable plot. It's another thing to immerse an audience into its setting. And The Wind simply failed to convince me that it shouldn't have been a modern re-imagining.

The set and props were convincing enough for the most part, though certain pieces (mostly linens) appeared so clean and mass-produced as to make me wince. But fine, positive points for effort.

As for character design and dialogue? Accent, mannerisms, postures, body language - none of these were researched by any stretch of the imagination. I'd say the characters were modern 20-somethings LARPing as 19th-century frontier folk, but that would be giving them too much credit, as LARPers tend to take their roles seriously and would have at least attempted some lilts or drawls. Maybe instead of asking, "Are you pregnant?" one would try, "Are ye with child?" Something to yank us out of our modern sensibilities, even if it isn't entirely accurate.

It may seem a petty reason for docking so many stars. You're entitled to that belief. But as a caution to others like myself: If you're looking to wholly step into a period piece for your horror experience, this ain't it.

This film may not be for every horror fan because it is slow paced and flashback oriented, which creates some confusion and boredom. However, the actors were convincing and the cinematography exuded a feeling of true desolation. Several of the scenes were nicely crafted without relying on overt gore or jump scares to frighten the audience.

I thought it was clever to blend an american western period piece with a demonic, neurotic tone.

I think this movie is definately worth a watch and is one of the more original horror films as of late.

The acting is great and it gets the feeling of eerie isolation across well. Rather than being scary thanks to big effects, it relies on subtle and slowly increasingly more obvious sounds and visuals, as well as the (well acted) emotional states of the characters, which I really enjoyed. Would definitely recommend.

A folkloric tale of madness, paranoia & things that go bump in the night, The Wind paints a menacing portrait of isolation, loneliness & their overwhelming nature with its desolate wilderness setting, ominous atmosphere, arresting camerawork, stellar sound design & excellent performances yet the story as a whole fails to deliver the maximum impact due to shortcomings of its own making, for its muddled narrative structure, inconsistent editing & overuse of flashbacks prevents it from realising its true potential.