The Binding

This is not a real review, it should be understood more as a collection of impressions on the film.

The direction and photography are painful for a film which, however, as a horror film, is quite nice because it manages to instill in the viewer an aura of terror and anxiety that accompanies it from start to finish. So in my opinion it is a bit underrated because it could also aspire to a meager sufficiency because unlike many similar films at least this one tries to be slightly different and tries and succeeds very well in the horror task of scaring and it does it with some nice ideas and not with the jumpscare games with which horror classics now try to scare.

As a film it's O.K. The acting is good even above par for a couple of the cast. This isn't really a horror in the conventional sense. No gore. No jump scares. No demons. No items of cutlery sticking in the ceiling. It's an exploration into belief, mental illness and how people react to these things. For instance, if someone hears the voice of God, how do we know that God isn't talking to them? It was personal to me. I had a friend who was very religious. He went to church and was part of of that community. He said that he prayed every day and everybody loved him. Until God answered him, then he was considered mental. It wasn't as if God was telling him to do something bad, just good things. This film goes into that in a bit more depth. What happens if someone hears the voice of God and it's telling them to do something bad? What if it isn't God and they aren't insane? If you like delving into these sort of questions, this is a film for you. It's not fast paced but moves along nicely. It does keep asking those questions.

"The Binding" is a movie that possesses multiple symbolic layers of meaning, showcasing Gus Krieger's exceptional mastery of his expressive tools. Initially we are induced to take it as a genre film, and I think that this label is the root cause of its low IMDb rating. When the viewers foreshadow an horror story centered around the devil, they are led to believe that the exorcism scene must inevitably serve as the emotional apex of the narrative. If that were the case, the film would be deemed disappointing, but such an assessment is far from accurate: the exorcism scene underscore the extreme ineptitude, fear, and confusion of the priest Uriel, who dispenses futile advices; facing a genuinely extraordinary event, he feels lost, especially since he himself no longer places faith in the church's ancient methods. If the resolution of all conflicts were to hinge on that single scene, the low rating would be correct. But there is far more depth.

"The Binding" is a realistic and complex cinematic work that derives its strength from the interplay between the metaphysical dimension and the psychological one. The anguish and fear conveyed by the protagonist, the highly skilled and intense Amy Gumenick, seep into the viewer's consciousness from the very first scene and persist throughout. When viewed through the correct lens, Gus Krieger's film emerges as a horror tale, not due the reiteration of the genre clichés but due to its profound thematic content. It doesn't rely on special effects to evoke a profound sense of disquiet, and provoke numerous philosophical questions about the nature of religious faith.

It's sad, but when a movie transcends the limitations of the genre stereotypes in order to deepen the human frailties, there is always a risk of failing to engage the proper audience and being misunderstood.

The low rating was not a good sign, and if other recent low-budget viewings were anything to go by was worried that it would be one of those that bad or worse films. But there was the concept, while a very weird one it was intriguing. So watched it anyway as part of one of my film and television quests (often completest).

Have seen worse films as part of my recent modest at best/low budget film quest definitely, but that is not saying that 'The Binding' is a good film. It isn't, not even close. It is also one of those films that doesn't intrigue at all, offers very little new (the concept was not a derivative one as such, but the execution is and is also too conventional and seemed resistant to take any risks. Got very little out of 'The Binding' sad to say.

One point in its favour is some atmosphere in the lighting, that is too far and between and is wasted by most of it being drab or too dark, a too compact setting, haphazard editing and some photography that induces nausea.

Direction is at best pedestrian and this does affect the pacing, which is sluggish throughout, and the direction of the actors. Excepting the lead actress, who is serviceable, the cast look uncomfortable and inexperienced and the character interaction is very bland and sometimes random.

From start to finish, 'The Binding' badly lacks tension or suspense, which immediately dilutes the thriller element. Nothing scares and it all feels too safe, which is why there is so much predictability. Everything is easily foreseeable long before it happens and the pacing is just too dull and the atmosphere too anaemic. The script never sounds natural and the cheese factor is high and the interest factor low as can be.

The story is ruined by being paper thin, useless padding and a very dull pace. It did feel too much like a short film stretched out to feature length with nowhere near enough content to fill it. At least it didn't leave me confused though. The characters are never interesting, even with few attempts to which are so flimsily developed that it is difficult to care for any of them, and frustrate with the way they behave. So many stupid and illogical character behaviours here matched by the far-fetched ending.

Concluding, a very weak film but not terrible. 3/10 Bethany Cox