Having seen the terrible Karen the Beauty Queen Butcher earlier in the day, I was hoping for a horror of a better quality to really cleanse the palette, I wanted a film that took itself a bit more seriously. Love Is the Monster was a folk-horror whose story was based in Finland. Directed and co-written by Alex Noyer (Sound of Violence, Conductor), this tries to tell a serious story, but emphasis on the tries.
Justin (Leonardo Nam - Werewolf by Night) and Ana (Madeline Zima - The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) have gone to a couples retreat in the wilderness of Finland on the insistence of Ana's best friend, Harper (Kimberley-Sue Murray - Crimson Peak), who is also going with her partner. The retreat is run by Tiina (Milla Puolakanaho), the hippy-like leader of a cult who worship a local nature God known as Lampa. At her retreat she helps those who are struggling in their relationships, using her perspective on life. Justin is fully on board for this, but Ana really doesn't want to be there. Tiina's religion is a sexual one, and lust soon permeates the air. With the guests all giving into their carnal desires, they also begin to hallucinate evil looking doppelgangers with glowing golden eyes. It seems that Tiina has something sinister in mind for Ana in particular, something that involves the rebirth of Lampa into a physical form.
The first half of this 90 minute horror was very slow. It was made up of various couples having sex or otherwise just getting naked at the drop of a hat (the film includes full frontal male nudity, plus lots of breasts and butts if that is your thing). The only visible signs of horror came from the golden eyed hallucinations and a bucket-load of CG birds. There was the idea here that anyone who dies literally transforms into a bird. With birds being my favourite animal, it was hardly the stuff of nightmares imagining that happening. It also didn't help that the many flocks of birds were entirely CG, it never felt like there was a single real bird in the entire film. Other bad looking CG came in the form of digital looking fires, with one mini-explosion in particular looking like something from a made for TV movie. There were some cool looking kill scenes with practical special effects used, such as someone stabbed to death with a stag antler. There was plenty of blood, alongside possessed people, and of course the fake computer birds.
The acting style could be wild at times, with Tiina in particular walking a tightrope of manic veal that occasionally fell off into outright absurdity. The wide eyes and over the top grin could come across as silly rather than someone full of religious fervour. Elsewhere, Justin irritated with his near permanent horny grin, while Ana made for a miserable protagonist who never came to be a character I remotely cared about. There wasn't a single likeable character, always a bad thing when you are meant to be rooting for the lead.
An indie film with less than ideal CG effects, but it still looked cohesive on screen. The story was basic and a little bit meandering, but the look of the lake and surrounding woods was a nice one, creating some atmosphere. The best part of Love Is the Monster was the rustic sounding score. Lots of simple drums, and the occasional inclusion of deep throat singing. This primitive sound really added to the vibe of the folk horror, making for the best part of the whole.
Despite being a serious horror, the cartoon-like antagonist with her exaggerated performance, coupled with the ever present digital birds, had me struggling to take this seriously. A budget Midsommar the setting and the music may have been on point, but the characters and more vitally the story, came to be lacking. Love Is the Monster became available to rent or own in the U.S.A on June 23rd, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
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