The Droving

I always enjoy these foreign flicks...but don't worry...its all in english. It had a somewhat indie vibe but big pretty studio looks. I thought it was easy to get sucked up into the differences of the accents, and patter, and different country. The story is edgy digging into the mystery drama trauma of what happened to a person that disappeared during a festival. It's a good watch that is refreshing to see and be in a different place, land, and way. The performances were solid which made me care. Watch a flick and take a vacation too.

The Droving (2020) is a story of loss, grief, trauma, revenge, and the role that one's belief has in how they cope with their suffering. Without giving too much away, this film is essentially a cult movie without the cult. The Droving has many of the tropes of a cult film (mysterious disappearance, traditional festival, folklore, discrepancy between the mundane aspects of daily life and the supernatural elements of belief), but focuses primarily on Martin (Daniel Oldroyd) and his emotional journey set forth by the beliefs of another. At only 80 minutes, this film quickly gets to the point - which helps to keep the focus on "what will happen next?" rather than lingering on the mystery of what happened in the past. The great performances of this small cast bring an intimacy to this film what will keep you engaged and give you a LOT to discuss by the end!!

The Droving has already been compared to The Wicker Man, Midsommer, even Kill List, plus several other "folk horror" films. And that's OK. But it's its own film, whichever category you want to place it in.

First, the setting - the English Lake District, which apart from being glorious, beautiful and haunting (watch it again to identify all your favourite spots) has its own folk legends and superstitions. Many of which are touched on here. It's a fabulous, atmospheric and immersive film in this respect alone.

Then, the imagery. Landscapes, set scenes, long static shots, all add to the scope and beauty of the film. Colours are often bright then subdued - I'd love to see this in the cinema.

The story - the word haunting comes up again, but also in turn horrific, tragic, and shocking. Perhaps a bit of a slow burner to begin, but things soon get moving. Not too shabby an ending either...

Finally, the score. It fits perfectly, whether its following the scenic shots or the more intense scenes, composer Matthew Laming has done it large and well.

If you're into folk horror, this is a 10/10. If you're into thrillers, it's still a 10/10. Give it a go, and if if ever appears in the cinema, I'll be first in the queue.

Visually striking from the first image of the man on the pier to to the final close up. The exterior country side shots are just lovely. Bringing you in with a false sense of serenity before hitting you with the tension. It's very deliberately paced. There's something about the tone that reminds me a bit of a Ben Wheatley's stuff, a little Kill List-esque.

The animal masks designs are really cool.

One thing that really stuck me was the music and score. The opening song is especially good and the score is appropriately haunting and eerie throughout. The actors are all solid, a few of the smaller parts are a little weak, but the leads are all good.

Revenge is never what it's cracked up to be. The emotion in the last stretch hits hard. and loved the end (no spoilers) Big recommend.

Set in a beautiful location with a creepy Wicker Man village vibe, the tension and sinister feel slowly builds in this great indie thriller. Also really liked the opening score, it sets the haunting tone of this film well.