‘Silhouette’ (2019) Is A Moody, Nightmarish Film – Movie Review

From Director Mitch McLeod (Arc 2016) comes Silhouette, a moody new horror drama about loss and a past that continues to haunt us. The film stars April Hartman (Howlers 2018), Tom Zembrod (Knucklebones 2016), and Jessica Dawn Willis (Breakers 2019).

Synopsis:

Silhouette is the story of Jack and Amanda Harms who, after the passing of their young daughter, set out into seclusion to begin their lives anew. Quickly upon their arrival, things go awry when the sins of their past come back to haunt them.

Jack (Zembrod) has decided that his depressed wife, Amanda (Hartman), could do with some peace and quiet in the country after the death of their daughter. On a side note: when will people learn that whisking traumatized people away to isolation in the countryside is a terrible idea? Honestly, haven’t any of these people seen a single Ingmar Bergman film? That kind of thing just never goes well. But I digress. Trouble starts when an attractive female neighbor (Willis) stops by, and Jack suddenly perks up. It seems that he has a habit of straying in their marriage, and was busy cheating on the night their daughter died after a long illness. So Jack goes off cheating again, and Amanda starts vividly hallucinating visions of her daughter.

The good: Amanda’s hallucinations in Silhouette are absolutely amazing: well shot, vivid and surreal. The acting is insanely good as well. April Hartman really shines here with a powerful, gut-wrenching performance. She’s just incredible. The film sets up with a superbly visual mood, existing in a dark, strange dream. It also features a twist at the end that may change the way you look at the entire film.

Now for the bad: At almost two hours long, Silhouette could have used some serious editing. There were some scenes that, while interesting, were totally unnecessary to the plot. I’m a huge fan of moody, surreal scenes a la David Lynch, but even he knows when to dial it back. This aspect mostly relates to the husband’s cheating on his wife with the neighbor. Why did we need to watch them in the bar for what felt like twenty minutes? We get it: he’s a cheating bastard. Let’s move on, please.

Overall, Silhouette is a good movie based on the acting and visual work alone. It does have a slower, more meandering plot, so hard core gore hounds may find themselves frustrated. Despite the pace, Silhouette is still a film fans of moody, thoughtful horror films should definitely catch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjS_AL3alhM