Thine Ears Shall Bleed - New Release Review
Director: Ben Bigelow
Starring: Lea Zawada, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, Hannah Cabell, Andrew Hovelson, Duke Huston
Written by: Ben Bigelow, William Bigelow
Produced by: Dennis Aig, Jim Kouf, Lynn Kouf
Cinematography by: Chris Cavanaugh
Original Score by: Jacques Brautbar
Synopsis:
In 1860s America, a minister's family hears an unexplained noise from woods during their wagon journey. Mistaking it for divine presence, they worship until realizing its sinister nature.
Thoughts:
Yet another horror film this year that leans heavily into religion and righteousness, 'Thine Ears Shall Bleed' is well written but it lacks any memorable moments with characters that aren't particularly likeable.
Ben Bigelow's debut feature film follows a family of four, led by Ezekiel Thatcher, a puritanical Reverend, as they journey through an idyllic wooded area in isolated America. As the family lose their way and the night becomes shorter, Ezekiel decides to stop the wagon and set up camp. In the morn they discover that their precious horses have fled or been stolen so Ezekiel goes out looking for them as his wife Sarah and children Abigail and Luke (who is blind) prepare a meal and ready the camp for possibly another night's stay.
As Ezekiel wanders through the woods, a strange, ethereal sound draws him to the edge of a gorgeously, scenic cliff where he believes he has been spoken to by God. Upon returning to the camp to share his apparent communion with his saviour, his son Luke reveals that his sight has miraculously returned. Seeing this as an obvious sign Ezekiel believes that he has been chosen as a disciple of God and pledges his future to the building of a church on this land.
Meanwhile, Sarah begins to see her husband change in more ways than one and his unrelenting belief in his devotion to the Lord is taking over his duties as a Father and provider for their family. Things then begin to go downhill very quickly as the angelic sound begins to "infect" the rest of the family and we soon realise that these woods may not be quite as idyllic as first thought.
'Thine Ears Shall Bleed' works perfectly fine as a straight up story about the power of religion and deception. There's nothing overtly wrong abut the film. It looks good. It's shot quite well. With the exception of Hannah Cabell, who plays the mother Sarah, the acting is a litte bit over-the-top. When the cast are performing together it does fell decidedly less cinematic and more like theatre work. The dialogue is a tad too on the nose for me and was delivered in a robotic manner, particularly the first act. I did think the performances improved as the film progressed. Lea Zawada reminded me of a young Sissy Spacek.
The issue is that we've seen this type of film a hundred times before. From the opening sequence to the finale, it played out pretty much exactly how I imagined it would. The first half of the film plods along without any genuine intrigue and follows all the usual beats that a story of this nature tends to follow. The characters felt a little one dimensional and the introduction of a fifth character, a stranger they encounter in the woods, doesn't add the intended investment I think the director wanted. It's a bit predictable.
The cinematography is a big plus. Although I can't recall any interesting or breathtaking shots, Bigelow makes the most of the location despite it being (probably) set within a fairly small perimeter. The score is dramatic and has a profound resonance to it and although the scares are minimal, there's a creepy scene that feels like an homage to Philip Kaufman's 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. The sound design has it's impressive moments too, helping to bring an eerie sense to the important scenes. Bigelow and team do a great job at delivering some tension and atmosphere, at least in the final act, but I feel the film could've benefitted more from the use of subtle imagery throughout and even a bit more blood or gore to heighten the scare factor, which it teased early on. Instead we get a notably safe yet tedious tale of piety that fails to bring any real originality and void of artistic flair.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️½
-Gavin Logan
'Thine Ears Shall Bleed' will be available on UK Digital Platforms on July 15th
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