EMELIE: An Unsettling, Imperfect Nightmare

Michael Thelin‘s directorial feature debut is perhaps most effective in its earliest stages. When we are first introduced to a sleepy suburban neighbourhood, it is already clear that something is amiss. When we witness the kidnapping of a young woman on her way to babysit, we begin to get some idea of what is in store. However, this plot point is not explored explicitly for another 40 minutes. Instead, we are introduced to a mysterious and unsettling new character assuming the identity of the babysitter, who is now left with the children alone all night. What is more, the children are not allowed mobile phones, but there is a gun in the house. Cue skin to crawl.

Creepy but Confused

Much of the praise for this film must got to its director. Most notably, Thelin must be lauded for his ability to maintain a gripping and unnerving tone throughout the entire picture. Shooting with a restrained and detached style, he trusts his actors to give the audience just as much information as is required to keep them simultaneously curious and disturbed. He is also clearly adept with actors, eliciting some excellent performances from his ensemble – an especially impressive feat given that most of the action takes place within the claustrophobic confines of a single house with only one adult actor and three child actors present.

Indeed, the young actors are exceptional and their credibility is vital to the tone and plot of the film. Joshua Rush is outstanding as Jacob, the eldest child desperately trying to control the situation and keep an eye on the unwelcome stranger in his family’s house. He manages to craft a believable (rather than stereotypical) teenager and shows his development from a shy and insular boy to a confident and courageous adolescent. Carly Adams and Thomas Bair are equally impressive as Jacob’s younger siblings, though by necessity their characters have less to do.

The star of the show, however, is Sarah Bolger as the eponymous Emelie. Her performance is instantly yet subtly unsettling, making her both credible and terrifying at the same time. It is a skilful and understated performance, doubly remarkable in instances where she carries off clunky dialogue or poorly explored back story.

This is, unfortunately, where the script runs into problems. For the most part, it is a sinister and admirably low-key plot with a number of eerie and uncomfortable moments that make for an absorbing watch. It draws a blank, however, when it attempts to offer an explanation for Emelie’s behaviour, abandoning its greatest qualities – i.e. mystery and ambiguity – in favour of an underdeveloped subplot. It is a well-intentioned endeavour to flesh out Emelie’s character and make her more than just a creepy nanny, but it seems rushed and ill-conceived, leaving the audience more confused than enlightened.

It also cheapens a couple of red herrings, including one horrific sequence in which Emelie sits the children down to watch a private video of their parents that she has uncovered in their bedroom. Had Emelie’s motivation for this been left unknown, it would have increased the already well-established sense of nausea and inexplicable horror, but when Emelie’s history is revealed, it comes across as unnecessary and out of character – confusing at best and problematic, ugly and exploitative at worst – leaving a bitter taste that is hard to forgive.

Familiar Ground

In many ways, Emelie is a daring and surprisingly intelligent take on familiar material. Thelin states in the production notes that he was keen to evoke a sense of 1970’s horror films in his aesthetic, which is reminiscent of John Carpenter‘s Halloween and recent retro-horrors such as It Follows. He and cinematographer Luca Del Puppo manage to achieve this, however, without a self-conscious nod or wink that would reduce their efforts to mere pastiche.

Indeed, though the creepy nanny trope has been seen in a number of films – The Nanny, The Omen, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, When a Stranger Calls, Don’t Bother to Knock to name but a few – Thelin’s film never feels like a specific reference to any of them and trusts the audience and the characters to engage with the story on its own merits, despite its lack of originality.

Furthermore, Thelin‘s picture is similar to 1970’s horror in another sense: its use of social commentary and paranoia. Though almost subliminal in the finished film, Thelin has spoken about exploring the false sense of security that new technology brings, highlighted by the ease with which Emelie cuts off the house’s internet and the fragile but significant trust between parents and babysitters. There is a palpable sense of this, which suggests that it is more than mere production rhetoric.

This may not be enough for some, however, as the plot and characters are hardly revolutionary nor is the film particularly insightful. It is, undeniably, a familiar plot in a familiar setting with familiar characters and some viewers will no doubt justifiably switch off feeling as if they have seen this film before – which in some ways they have. Nevertheless, this would be a shame as, though it is certainly nothing especially new, it is a very well-made film with enough interesting aspects to warrant a viewing with a couple of borderline decisions that hover between bold moves and clumsy missteps.

Conclusion

Emelie is a solid and sinister film with strong performances, and simple but effective direction. Director Thelin and actors Bolger and Rush are particular standouts, who enable the film to gloss over its weaker script and less tasteful moments. Some may well dismiss the film outright but that would be unfair to its many merits. Despite being somewhat of an admirable failure, it does maintain a tense and confident tone, and is ultimately greater than the sum of its parts.

What do you think about the babysitter trope in horror – is it overused? Please use the comments section below to let me know what you think.

Emelie is released on general release in the US and On Demand worldwide, having opened on March 4th. For a full list of international release dates, click here.