Lamb

Lamb is a suspenseful and artistic film that showcases some great performances. I loved its beautiful cinematography and stunning colour palette. I also found it's themes of parenthood, loss and isolation interesting. At times, I wondered if the makers were commenting on real-world issues such as The Stolen Generation of Indigenous children in Australia.

But, as interesting as the concept was, the storyline just felt a little thin and not enough happened over the 90 minutes. Also, I don't think this film has been categorised correctly. There are a couple of violent scenes, but Lamb doesn't really qualify as a horror in my opinion. Instead, I'd describe it as a 'folk drama'.

I've not watched much Icelandic cinema. So I can't tell you if this is typical. I can tell you it's good though. It's sparse and wintery as you might guess. It's also a bit dark and magical. Maria (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guõnason) live on a remote farm. It's quiet, idyllic. Lots of hard work and they're vastly outnumbered by animals. They seem lonely. Unhappy even. Something missing. Iceland looks incredible. Almost unreal and it's used to great effect. It's all beautifully shot, from the amazing mountain vistas to the barns housing the sheep they tend. They're lives are changed, seemingly for the better when a new lamb is born, a little different from the rest. It's clear that shes used to mask an earlier unseen loss and for this reason things are going to end badly. Now this newborn creature is quite literally fantastic. So much so, it could rip you right out of the otherwise believable narrative, but she's so adorable you just go with it. Things get a little more complicated when Ingvar's brother Pétur (Björn Hlyner Haraldsson) turns up, but that's really not the half of it. Calling this Lamb and having one with such an arresting role is misleading though, there's a lot more to unpack. Iceland is gorgeous. Lambs are very cute. Loneliness is deadly.

What did I just watch? These were the first words running through my mind at the conclusion of 'Lamb'. This was not the film I expected by any measure. To be fair I don't think many who go in blind are going to be expecting what they get. A bizarre experience to say the least.

The film is set in a beautiful location. It's a pleasure to look at. You're going to see the horror tag attached to this movie, and it is in a odd sort of way I suppose, but mostly this is a drama with a twist. If you go in expecting a horror you're likely going to come away disappointed.

Whether this story will connect with you or not is anyone's guess. There are people who are going to hate every second of it, and there are people who will love it. I fell somewhere in the middle personally. It's unapologetically different though and I respect that a lot. 6/10.

While I basically agree with the main statement the film makes, and perhaps the statement is even timely to some degree. However the film starts to feel very ho-hum nearing the midpoint. It's not all that interestingly told, nor does it come across as a meditation on it's main idea or ideas as well as it was likely intended to. To me it spent too much time in nowhere land. Perhaps if I understood Icelandic I would have gotten more out of it, I'm not entirely sure about that. Also, this is really not a horror film at all. It's somewhat dark, like an old folktale but mostly quite overt and not at all scary. I was enjoying the film for the first while, it sets up reasonably well, but it really never ends up giving you much of anything very interesting to chew on. There likely is some symbolism in the film that I didn't fully unravel; However what is here really seems too unimportant to care much for given the overall fairly aimless and stale feeling the film mostly has past the midway point. It's all very simple for the most part and in the end, a little silly really. This could've possibly made a great short film. There just isn't enough heart or guts or real substance in the film to be a feature in my view. It's not bad, but I would say skip it unless you're really into these kinds of old folktales. I love a good thinker and a good slow burn, but honestly there's not all that much here to think about. It tries to strike a fire in the viewers mind perhaps, but there's not enough fuel to light it and nothing much to burn. 5.5/10.

This isn't going to be a film that everyone is going to be pleased with. So, if you are considering it, go into it with an open mind and understanding that it's not for everyone.

Let me start by saying that I wouldn't consider this to be a "horror" film. It had suspense, weird and fantastical aspects but it just didn't cross over into horror for me. However, if you are a horror lightweight, the situation may cross the line into horror for you.

The camera work and acting was great. The setting was beautiful, well suited due to it's isolation and it is so well shot that it created a lonely, longing atmosphere that had me investing in the growing happiness this couple found despite how weird it was. Let me just say that after seeing her in several movies I have found Noomi Rapace to be a rather skilled actress. She plays these darker rolls quite well so I was pleased with her performance.

Some people have complained about the CGI but for the most part, I thought it was pretty good. Not perfect but definitely not awful.

Overall, the story was, as I said, unique. There are a lot of questions left. So many that they could play around with the idea of a sequel if they wanted to. Leaving questions unanswered is what has me still thinking about it though.

I say check it out. It was an experience.