The Other Lamb

Not sure about the comparisons to Midsommar, The VVitch, The Village and certainly not The Wicker Man. There's far less going on (literally) in this than in any of them. I didn't hate it, but I was certainly bored, and empathised more with the bemused policemen than anyone else. Nice sheep though.

This movie is very "arty". It's a slow, almost character study film. It's portrays these peoples lives and that's it. There are no major stakes or plot. It's just very uncomfortable and sad but intriguing.

It looks amazing. I think the cinematography was lovely. The locations are too. I also think the costumes are amazing and thoughtful. All the woman are dressed in poppy synthetic colours, this makes them stand out against the nature around them. It is a simple idea but genius.

I think you could watch if you like slow, intriguing films.

This is the story of a christianesqe cult of all women and their one master living out in the woods. For the life of me I don't see why this is touted as a horror movie, marketing gambit? It is these women's pleasure to serve their shepherd hand and foot...and booty. It's the very slow, long, drawn out story of one of his daughters finally opening her eyes to his real "ideology" and his real treatment of these women. Plus, it didn't hurt that his own arrogance finally got the better of him. As slow as this is, and as NOT a horror story as this is, I was somehow held by the story. I found myself drawn - maybe by the lush cinematography.

This is not your general mainstream movie. It uses lots of symbolism and short flashes of scenes that may or may not have really happened. When the movie is over you don't really know for sure.

As the movie begins we see a large group of females, some young some mature, all dressed in plain long sackcloth dresses. They live off the grid in a strangely stark area. We see the sole man, whom they call Shepherd, with his facial hair and demeanor reminds us of the Caucasian view of what Jesus may have looked like. And we see a flock of sheep, expertly guarded by a well-trained Border Collie. This is a cult.

What is immediately conspicuous is the absence of any males among the children. What we eventually glean, but isn't spoken, is that Shepherd sees to it any male child born is eliminated. A flock can have only one ram. But a cult can't go on forever, eventually a strong willed person will start a rebellion.

I enjoy all kinds of movies, even if I don't relish the theme. This is a well-made movie, the acting is appropriate and the cinematography is excellent, making creative use of the stark Irish landscape.

I am glad I took the time, but I suspect most who favor mainstream type movies will not enjoy this one.

Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska, together with writer C.S. McMuller, presents a visually stunning, excellently performed, unsubtle and ideologically rich look at the cult/messiah phenomena, gendered power, narcissism and emotional imprisonment. It's a smart slow-burner with a touch too slight on some of the presented themes & threatens to be style>substance throughout, but it's a journey worth taking.

"The Other Lamb" is a revenge/female empowerment fable, a story about a Shepherd and his flock, or, in other words, a self-proclaimed narcissistic Messiah (played by Michiel Huisman) who's been devoting his life to creating a cult where he can be the only man, with multiple wives and daughters. The movie puts us in the mind of Selah (portrayed compellingly by Raffey Cassidy) as we go through her journey from being an utter devotee to the cult's 'cause' to the inevitable table-turn and revenge. Szumowska's direction and Cassidy's powerful and relatable performance grants a success at putting the viewer where it wishes to. "The Other Lamb", as compared to other movies about cults, doesn't explore the evil, abuse or psychology behind it all on a satisfactory level, meaning we don't get any real closure. However, it redeems some of the flaws with being visually captivating, the cinematography's patient, environments are scarily beautiful, coloring is eye-pleasing, and it's all presented in a somewhat rare, full 1920*1080 aspect ratio. Without a doubt, a lot in "The Other Lamb" relies on atmosphere of isolation, both physical and mental, and this shot the director does not miss. Despite the subjective substance flaws, at the end of it all "The Other Lamb" still has a strong perspective on actual issues, showed through a prism of cult politics and gender inequality.

It's no "Midsommar" or "The Wicker Man", holds back in the department of violence and shock, but, as far as horror movies go, "The Other Lamb" is a fairly great addition to the slow-burn, atmospheric, visually beautiful shelf of horror movies. Also, even though set in this century, it very much feels like a folk horror. My rating: 7/10.