Without Name

The natural world, with its serenity and stillness, brings comfort for many. For Eric, a land surveyor who heads to the woods solely to escape a shattered marriage, it brings something else. Summoned by a mysterious client to a cabin far from the concrete dullness of his suburban home, Eric eagerly awaits the arrival of Olivia who is both surveying partner and mistress. Olivia encourages Eric to live his dreams, yet he is a man who has none. Within the mist and moss covered forest, shadows intrude. The stillness combined with obtrusive locals, unsettle something in Eric's psyche.

Without Name immerses the audience in a surreal world filled with spectral auras and tones. The forest alternately glows and darkens, appearing like a dance floor where possibilities brighten in the flickering light, then dissipate into murkiness again. I love this film theme, where reality and dreams merge together and become indistinguishable from each other. I only wish the dialogue and action sequences were as deep as the film themes. Seen at the Miami International Film Festival.

I fancied some escapism and had wanted to see this for a while. It looked dark, brooding and potentially a little off the wall. There's a lot of space here, in the frame, in the dialogue, it invites you in. Shot mostly in rural Ireland, Alan McKenna plays the central role, isolated in a simple existence. One of surveying said rural areas. Think forests, old country houses, with creepy books on the shelves, old framed cross-stitch on the walls and a sense of foreboding in the stillness. There's some good thriller tropes and it's a bit Blair Witch without the whining. There's enough bumps, creaks, menacingly eerie gusts of wind to keep you on your toes and more than one occasion that frightened the life out of me. If McKenna does a good job as he slips into his own paranoia and fictional confusion, the real stars are Gavin O'Brien and Neil O'Connor in the sound department, single handedly driving the tension in almost every scene. It's not brilliant and far from perfect, but it sweeps along building nicely and comes to an oddly satisfying end.

It's hard to completely pin this one down. I'm a fan of the occasional extra-subdued genre film, and this is certainly one of them - maybe even the utmost example. Composers are credited for a score that's only occasionally present (though it's often lovely when it is). Sound effects are so minimized in the audio mix that at some points they're rather almost entirely inaudible (if not for generous subtitles one might never know there was any "ominous droning" we're supposed to hear). Dialogue is only infrequently uttered in anything above a tame indoor pitch (and at that, only in the last third). The first third comes and goes so softly that even as protagonist Eric obliquely inquires about oddities, the viewer is made to earnestly wonder "wait, what happened?" The second third is defined almost entirely by dialogue and a bad trip. Suffice to say that whatever one's opinion of it, 'Without name' isn't a movie for those seeking the immediate and visceral. I'll say it now, though - with patience comes reward.

Dialogue is mostly vague and indistinct, not least as characters speak airily of some imprecise philosophical profundities, and if possible the scene writing and characters are even more fuzzy. That Alan McKenna's protagonist mostly mumbles and frowns his way through the picture is contrasted with the more typical comportment and delivery of the sparing supporting characters, but even they seem like mere approximations of people. In addition to some of the loftier dialogue, there are a few scenes that would seem to impart some specific, concrete through-line to the course of events as characters have strange experiences with, in, among, or of flora, yet given the hazy nature of the writing here at large, it's not unreasonable to question all the while if these have just been projections of a viewer who is reading too much into what unfolds before us. So it is as well for what is clearly mindful and purposeful (and, one way or another, finely executed) cinematography, editing, and effects. How intentional is all this amorphousness?

There is, at length, a definite narrative that gradually crystallizes in the last third. Abstruse themes present of the power of nature, and surrender to it whether by will or coercion. As Eric's abnormal time in the forest reaches its zenith over these ninety minutes, a pointedly broken sense of reality emerges, and it's evident that 'Without name' has aimed to be an extremely underhanded approach toward psychological horror by way of art film pretensions and a very (welcome) ecologically-friendly perspective on the world. The pay-off is long, slow, and quiet, but delicious, like subtle flavors in the bouquet of a glass of wine that manifest at the tail end of a sip and linger thereafter. For all the emphatic nuance, intelligence, and hard work that went into this feature I can only commend filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan, screenwriter Garret Shanley, and those contributing from behind the scenes. The filming location itself is truly gorgeous, and so uniquely paramount in the production that I almost wonder if the forest shouldn't have gotten a producer credit. The result of all this is a picture that is ultimately as entrancing as it is murky and almost abstract - and, I would wager, very likely to inspire feelings of hate in many who might watch it.

Do any of these words make sense? Have I wandered into the same nebulous territory of shapelessness as much of Shanley's screenplay would superficially seem to? In fairness, for those who engage with 'Without name' and come out the other end liking it, I don't know how one could speak at length of it without adopting the same affectations. There's at once so much and so little going on here; a title bursting with genius and life, yet shoving all of it into the smallest possible corner; a marvel, and a bore. I love it for exactly what it is, and also wish it maybe possessed just the slightest bit more clarity or definition. Does this sound like the type of movie you enjoy? If yes, then step right up; if not, your options are without limit. It's going to be a very, very select audience who best appreciates this, yet for those who can, 'Without name' is kind of brilliant.

"Without Name" is one of those movies that I really didn't like at first glance. It was too intellectual and much too slow for my personal taste when I first watched it. But after a while I kept revisiting it because of its unique nature. It's a rather slow-paced horror movie and has its focus set on the supernatural. The protagonist is a land-surveyor with a troubled marriage. The beginning of the movie is quite mundane and tries to showcase that the protagonist is just a regular guy who's doing his thing. But things change when he's sent on a special assignment. Without spoiling too much; he's supposed to measure a property that's located in a forest. But not just any forest; the one that the locals call "Goanim" (which is Welsh for "Without Name"). There are many myths about the forest and people claim that it's cursed but the protagonist doesn't seem to think much of it, initially.

As for the execution: the movie is deliberately slowed down to intensify the suspense of the horror. And I have to say, even though I criticized the pacing when I first watched it; it does work quite well in hindsight. We as the viewers know that things will eventually take a turn for the worse but we're never quite sure when. And that's ultimately where the movie shines. It manages to be terrifying because it's exploiting the most primal form of fear; the fear of the unknown. We don't know when things'll go south and we never really get to see the ghost. And yet it's evil presence is pervasive throughout the movie. Like a shadow, looming over the the protagonist's head. It's really reminiscent of the movie "It Follows" in terms of the flair. Do you know the feeling that you get when you think you're being watched? That's kind of the best way to describe this movie. It has that type of aura because the protagonist spends most of his time in the forest; feeling like he's being watched without being 100% certain about it. Doubts fester and his sanity degrades perpetually. The psychological tension is almost palpable.

To conclude: I really like this movie because it's so unique. There is no other horror movie quite like it. With that being said; it's also its biggest downside. If you don't like slow-paced movies this is probably not the movie for you. I mean, it's literally on the extreme end of the spectrum (on the slow end).

Final verdict: recommended (if you have the patience for it)

Very slow, perhaps too slow to begin with, this is nevertheless an immersive experience. This is due to a combination of things - the acting, the incredible scenery and the eerie sound design.

There is, however, virtually no story. This is an uneventful film with a lacklustre ending, heightened by very good acting and terrific direction and cinematography. Filmed in Ireland, it is bound to look great - and it does - but the overall feeling I had at the end was ... what? My score is 4 out of 10.