THE WIND: A Breath Of Fresh Air Amongst Modern Horror

Recently, our website wrote about the rise in so-called “elevated horror.” These films, which include the likes of The Witch, Hereditary, and the more recent Us, aren’t necessarily scary in modern terms; instead, they rely on tension, atmosphere, and much more subtle, inborn scares to do the trick.

The Wind, though containing many elements of this subgenre, also tends just as often to lapse into more typical horror, including scenes that are very over-the-top and interlaced with jump-scares. It’s not quite an idyllic balance of the two, but The Wind is a solidly entertaining film-watching experience all the same.

The Wind

The Wind takes place in the Old West; specifically, in the middle of the prairie, and with almost nobody around. Here, Lizzy Macklin (Caitlin Gerard) lives alongside her husband Isaac (Ashley Zukerman). Their only neighbors are another couple, named Emma Harper (Julia Goldani Telles) and her husband Gideon (Dylan McTee).

Almost right away, though, we know something eerie is going on, as Lizzy soon witnesses strange animals and loud noises in the middle of the night, and as a result is convinced that there is some creature that lives amongst them on the prairie. What results from this is an increasingly more surreal series of events, leading Lizzy to be convinced that everyone is out to get her.

The Wind starts somewhere towards the middle, and slowly starts to fill in both what has happened previously and what it subsequently will lead to. I’m not always the hugest fan of such a trope, since it could have you occasionally have you scratching your head, but here, it also helps to set the eerie tone right from the offset.

With little dialogue, first time director Emma Tammi weaves us through Lizzy’s story with an impeccable eye for detail; often, we will glimpse just the vast surrounding landscape, or, living up to the film’s name, hear nothing but the sound of the wind. Occasionally, it’s a hum of a windmill, or even more often, the endless blowing against the walls of their house. The minimal strings-based score by Ben Lovett is also barely noticeable for much of the film, only coming to the forefront during the particularly tense moments.

Altogether, Tammi is able to fully capture a sense of just the immense loneliness of the open desert, especially when, like Lizzy, you spend much of your time on your own. Caitlin Gerard is also, as a result, the true star of the film, and much of its success comes from her effective portrayal of a woman so isolated that, when things go bump in the night, you don’t blame her for reacting the way that she does.

Pitfalls

Yet, though much of The Wind captivates through these tiny details by Tammi, at times it will also go from 0-60, and in such a chaotic way that the tension it had been building to is undercut. As a whole, the film made me think in many ways of The Witch, which is similar not only due to its isolated, old West setting (though much older in The Witch), but also its supernatural undertones. Here, though, rather than slow-building to the supernatural elements of the film, instead it opens up, fully revealing what is happening around Lizzy.

In moments like this, The Wind more resembles a film like last year’s The Nun, with an overuse of jump scares and a tendency to throw everything but the kitchen sink at you in an attempt to provoke a reaction. Looking back, when these extreme sequences happened more and more, I longed for the quieter moments that had preceded it.

In addition to going to an extreme, the film ultimately falls victim to a trope that I’m usually not the hugest purveyor for: that of throwing exposition on its viewer by the conclusion in the hopes that it’ll more fully explain the various events. Whereas much of the film was ambiguous, by its conclusion it had almost fully pulled back the curtain, revealing what was really happening. Such a choice isn’t necessarily a detriment on its face, but in the case of a movie like this where much of it succeeded as a mystery, now it leaves you with little to think about after the credits roll.

Conclusion: The Wind

The Wind, above all, shows talent amongst its edges, primarily that of director Emma Tammi. The film reverberates with an eerie tone, and though occasionally uneven, there is enough here to ultimately recommend it, especially for those fans of either Westerns or horror.

What are your thoughts on The Wind? Are you a fan of this new rising trend in more atmospheric horror?

The Wind will be released in limited theaters and VOD on April 5, 2019.