The Other Lamb

Despite its spellbinding cinematography, thoughtful imagery, and captivating performances from Raffey Cassidy and Michiel Huisman, 'The Other Lamb' strays pretty far from being an engaging presentation due to the lacks of tension and stakes needed on its story to make this film as fascinating as it had the potential to be.

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.

I saw this film at TIFF 2019. I didn't know what to expect going in, having never seen any of Malgorzata Szumowska's films. While I can understand that this film won't be everyone's cup of tea, I was mesmerized by the stunning visuals, the dreamlike atmosphere, and the slow-burn storytelling, all of which culminate in a violent but ultimately satisfying climax. Raffey Cassidy is excellent as the female lead, and Michiel Huisman, who I'm usually lukewarm on, does a surprisingly good job at playing a villain you love to hate. Over time, I can see The Other Lamb becoming a cult classic of sorts. And the film's final shot is one for the ages!

The movie looks very nice with lots of shots of wilderness and such. It is a very slow burn with an extremely serious tone. Whether it's worth watching is entirely wrapped up in whether you think the payoff made it worthwhile. I personally liked the ending, but didn't think it had enough story for a full length movie.