There’s no combination quite like familial drama and horror, especially when you throw in grief, teenage lust, and the complicated dynamic of old lovers meeting anew. However, which such a complex assortment of themes put together, it is difficult to find a balance between the sentimental and the terrifying, and keep audiences engaged on either end for a considerable amount of time.
Eric Pham‘s horror flick Flay follows the story of Moon Crane (Elle LaMont), who returns home after the death of her alcoholic mother (Peggy Schott), who she had been estranged from for quite some time. Moon is hardly allowed to grieve in peace, as she is confronted with her teenage brother, River (Dalton Gray), and his own antics, including his moronic group of friends. Audiences are able to see a haunted black chain, cursing all those who touch it to impending doom; the curse stems from a centuries-old murder of an Aboriginal Shaman by colonialists. Moon quickly realizes that there is something more to her mother’s death, and struggles to save her brother from suffering the same fate as her mother.
Racial Stereotypes as Horror Fodder
Flay‘s premise surrounds a curse put out by an Aboriginal Shaman man who was tortured and murdered by European settlers. While the beginning of the film discusses the horrific treatment of First Nations peoples by colonials, that is pretty much where it ends. For the rest of the movie, the Shaman man only exists to serve as the haunting villain who murders modern-day white people.
Looking at the events of the movie itself, this man (who is not named) serves as a victim of his circumstances. He died in pain, as an act of hatred fueled by racism. And, yet, the movie doesn’t even give him a character beyond his caricature. When one looks at the lack of Aboriginal representation in film, it is easily to see how problematic it is to only have the Shaman’s character be reduced to an antagonistically ghostly construct.
There could easily have been some backstory to his character. Beyond being a mysterious ‘medicine man’, who was he? How did his death lead to the curse? His character isn’t offered any sympathy; on the other hand, he isn’t even given a face, as he dons a Slenderman-esque mask for 99% of the film. The other antagonistic ghost is that of the dead mother, whose face is more-terrifyingly (and uniquely) warped, rather than masked. The writing clearly didn’t see any point on developing the Shaman beyond a basic level, and it shows. His death serves as nothing but a stereotypical premise, complete with imagery involving feathers and old chains.
Will-They-Won’t-They
Throughout the movie, Moon reunites with her ex-lover, a cop named Tyler (Johnny Walter). While their romance is, thankfully, not the forefront of the film, it leaves many questions to be unanswered, such as why Moon left without breaking up with him, how they met, what their relationship was like, etc. As with much of the movie, their relationship relies on relatively shallow dialogue.
It might have been an attempt to stifle distraction from the real plot of the film but, as that, too, was barely grazed upon, Moon and Tyler’s relationship could have been a redeeming arc for the film. They didn’t leave me fake-gagging at any point, which is rare for a horror film. It also could have served for some much-needed development of Tyler and, more importantly, Moon.
We see Moon in many lights. As a strong, independent young woman. As a caring sister. And as someone who considered it her right to leave an unhappy home life in search of something better. She was a strong lead for the film, and LaMont played her strikingly well. But even with her portrayal, it left much to still be desired. It would have been nice to see Moon’s character depth shown more intensely, and for her character to be able to shine in all her conviction and strength as she deserved. Tyler could have been an interesting segue into this, but their story seemed quite unfinished. On the other hand, Moon’s relationship with her brother seemed altogether rushed and clumsy.
Your Annoying Brother is the Real Villain
River Crane (yes, that’s his real name) is the only character in the film who touches his true potential. He starts off as an annoyingly bratty teenager with equally moronic friends, who don’t think twice before getting high at his mother’s wake. Moon and River butt heads right off the bat; their first interaction in the film ends with him screaming at her for leaving him to deal with their mother alone. However, as Flay progresses, the audience sees that River actually laments his friend group’s idiocy, and is smarter than he appears.
Despite his rough-and-tough exterior, River cares deeply about the people around him, including his sister. While he seemed content at first to brush off his late mother as ‘just another junkie’, he is affected by her death as any son would be, and is grieving in his own way. And, although he and Moon get off to a rough start, he is decidedly relieved to have some adult support in his life. He helps her when she is hurt, goes along with his girlfriend’s exploits to make her happy, and doesn’t mind doing all the work in a group project to save everyone’s ass. At one point, he even hints that his grades are good enough for medical school.
River and Moon’s relationship is the soft spot of Flay, and serves as a major motivator for Moon herself. She comes back to help him, and even toys with the idea of staying with him until he is finished school. He brings out her selflessness as she does his. River starts out as an exceptionally dense teenage boy, but shows his true colours as a sensitive, intelligent young man.
Even so, it is never explained why River chooses to associate with people he doesn’t even seem to like very much. He seamlessly transitions between a scene where he writes off his friends as stupid, but also spends most of the movie with them, and seems to genuinely like his girlfriend, Bethany (Violett Beane). He seems to be caught in a dichotomy between the self he portrays, and his true identity. This is never really reconciled in the film, and pushed aside in favour of clumsy paranormal activity.
Flay: Conclusion
Flay genuinely gives its best shot, which is shown in its unique premise and hinted character depth. Most of the victims of the curse are murdered with hands emerging from spilled liquids that force them to the ground; they are all found deceased, facedown. River and Moon’s relationship carry the movie, and I found myself wanting to continue watching simply to find out what would become of them.
However, this is where it falls flat. It draws on Aboriginal stereotypes as a thinly veiled form of ‘horror’, and its characters are never fully allowed to explore their depth beyond a shallow extent. There are some victories in Flay, including spectacular FX when it came to the mother’s ghost, as well as a cast whose chemistry seemed to work seamlessly. However, these are greatly overshadowed by relatively clumsy direction, too-quick shifting of character dynamics, and a feeling of wanting more by the movie’s end.
Flay was released on VOD in the US on April 2.
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