Shelter
Moore and Rhys Meyers play off each other very well, and their scenes together are suitably intense. Unfortunately, the film then decides to descend into unexpected horror territory.
Over the last few years, European cinema has delivered some of the most inventive, touching and brilliantly chilling films. In particular, Sweden has really set the bar with Let the Right One In and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. With Shelter we have the American debut of Swedish directors Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein.
Julianne Moore plays criminal psychologist Cara. Her father (played by Frank Darabont regular Jeffrey DeMunn) works in the same field and is the one responsible for introducing Cara to case which sets the film. David (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a young disabled man with a sweet disposition and no real obvious mental issues, but Cara soon discovers that David is actually Adam, a far more unsettling character with a dark past and that there is more than one person making Adam's body their home. All these people happen to be murder victims who seem completely unconnected to Adam, and Cara's persistence in helping Adam puts her own family at risk and tests her religious conviction.
Rhys Meyers is usually either on brilliant form (his performance as Elvis Presley won’t be bettered by anyone else) or brilliantly and embarrassingly over the top. Here he finds a fine balance and performs a neat array of accents due to his character's multiple personalities. Moore, being one of the most consistent actresses in cinema, doesn’t embarrass herself either as she gives a typically stellar turn playing a more awkward and fragile character to her usual confident roles.
Shelter starts off as an interesting and sharp thriller. Moore and Rhys Meyers play off each other very well, and their scenes together are suitably intense. Unfortunately, the film then decides to descend into unexpected horror territory, regrettably let down by the need to fill the film to the brim with all the clichés; the creepy mountain witches wouldn't look out of place in a 1970's horror film. They do, on the other hand, look completely out of place here.
There are entertaining jumps that will cater to the easily scared, with a particular gruesome thing that Rhys Meyers does owing a lot to the sound effects department. It sure looks spooky and definitely sets the tone for sinister things to come, borrowing a lot to The Shining: a woman with child fighting for her family, the moody aerial shots of a lone car in the mountains, the bathroom scene - all there.
Films that go down the religious route can sometimes be lacking in suspense, being lazy and strangely uninteresting. When all the bad stuff that happens can be blamed on dark forces, where is the real horror? It's much worse to know a human is just evil with no demonic purpose. The back story that we learn about chilled me much more than the current evil truth faced by Moore's character.
What's most disappointing is that Shelter could have been a genuinely good film (the first act is ace). Sadly, not the gripping debut I expected, it's a film that has great performances, without being close to being a great film.
Subscribe to the SG News Feed
