Eileen, A Review

Eileen’s life is about to change.

Eileen follows the titular character (Thomasin McKenzie, Last Night in Soho) as she leads a lonely existence, working in a corrections facility for teenage boys and caring for her widowed and alcoholic Father (Shea Whigham). Eileen frequently dreams of killing herself or those around her as well as having fantasies about the male prison guards, all in all longing for something of a more exciting life. Things then change when a new Doctor, Rebecca Saint John (Anne Hathaway, The Witches), arrives at the facility and bonds with Eileen and offers her a more glamourous life. The two begin going out drinking together and Eileen finds herself falling in love and finally looking forward to going into work. Rebecca however has other ideas and she actually has big plans concerning one of the newer patients. Will Eileen go along with her new work crush and change things forever or will she be forced to return to her lonely existence after all?

Eileen made for a interesting kind of watch and the moody vibes throughout and unclear storyline meant that I never quite knew what was going to happen next. We started with this character of Eileen who by all accounts had a pretty lifeless existence, stuck in a dead-end job and caring for her Father when no one else would. Then enter Rebecca and it was like everything changed and suddenly there was this shining light at the end of the tunnel. Being a drama though it was obvious something was going to go wrong down the line, I just didn’t know what and when.

Like I said above I wasn’t always sure where the storyline was going in Eileen and whether we were dealing with a happy lesbian romance, a coming of age drama, a prison thriller or something else entirely. There were so many different directions we could have gone in and that final third act twist really took me by surprise. The reveal that Rebecca had essentially kidnapped Mrs Polk (Marin Ireland, The Umbrella Academy) to get to the truth completely changed the tone of the entire film and the last 30 minutes or so really turned into something else entirely. The rush to get rid of the evidence for a seemingly happy ending together only for it to all fall apart really solidified the moodier and darker themes throughout and I really enjoyed those final shots of Eileen escaping her life for hopefully something better, even if it was alone.

Overall Eileen was an interesting film and I enjoyed the moodier vibes and performances from the main cast. I wasn’t exactly sure where the storyline was going at times but that third act twist really blew me away and completely changed the direction of the whole story. A fun and at times exciting thriller, Eileen made for an interesting watch and I’d definitely be interested in reading the original novel the film was based on.

Saltburn, A Review

We’re all about to lose our minds.

Saltburn follows Oxford scholarship student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) who after struggling to fit in with the rest of his classmates becomes enamoured with the affluent and popular Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who takes pity on him when he hears of his lower class lifestyle and parents’ substance abuse issues. Over the year the pair grow a friendship and Felix then invites Oliver to spend the summer with him in his family home Saltburn. Arriving at Saltburn Oliver then meets Felix’s parents Lady Elspeth (Rosamund Pike, I Care a Lot) and Sir James (Richard E Grant, Persuasion) and Sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) as well as the various strays the family have picked up along the way including Cousin Farley (Archie Madekwe) and ‘Poor Dear Pamela (Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman). Over the course of the summer Oliver then becomes very much part of the family, beginning to enjoy his new higher class of living, nothing lasts forever though and soon enough the truth must come out about Oliver whether he likes it or not. Things are happening at Saltburn and one thing’s for sure, this will be a summer nobody ever forgets.

This film received some massive hype online, especially on tiktok (as a result I did see some mild spoilers) and so I was pretty excited to dive in and see what all of the fuss was about. I think the main thing people were talking about was how ‘crazy’ the storyline was and if I’m being honest I was expecting something a little wilder? There were definitely some bizzare scenes but I didn’t find Saltburn any stranger than your average thriller, not to knock its quality at all but from what I’d heard I was expecting something a lot worse. Storyline wise though I did still enjoy this one and loved Oliver’s journey and the general vibes of the writing. I can definitely see why this film gained so much attention and with some impressive star quality attached it’s definitely been a highlight of 2023 for me.

Saltburn was such a wild kind of film and I really loved the mad vibes throughout, starting off with the almost dark academia feel in the Oxford setting and leading to the titular Saltburn house which definitely had a classic literature feel. The wealthy family and elaborate parties all seen through the eyes of Oliver the outsider allowed for this really over the top effect and I loved the progression of the story as Oliver got closer and closer to the Cattons. It was then Oliver’s obsession with Felix and the wealth he possessed that really drove this narrative forward and it was interesting to see how he wormed his way into the family, changing himself to best suit whoever he happened to be with at that moment in time. Really posing himself as this ‘poor little underprivileged boy’, Oliver had a real way of manipulating people and his journey was kind of iconic? I will admit I wish the film had been a lit bit gayer, because I definitely got that impression from the trailers, but overall Saltburn was definitely all kinds of iconic.

Felix and his family were definitely one of this film’s highlights and I really loved the group chemistry between them as they all played that very rich person out of touch persona. Their almost fascination with Oliver at his lack of wealth or status allowed for some great comedic moments and I just loved the dry humour throughout and amazing performances all around, especially that of Pike. Like I said above Oliver was really able to worm his way into the family dynamic here and it was interesting to see how each member responded to his charms and how he used that in his eventual long play.

Overall I really enjoyed watching Saltburn and loved the general crazy vibes of the film. I will say I was expecting something a little weirder based off audience reactions but on the whole I had a good time with this one and appreciated the film for stepping outside of some boxes. Keoghan was fabulous as Oliver and I really loved his story, dynamic with the rest of the family and of course that ending. This was a real iconic kind of watch with so many standout scenes and characters and I’d definitely recommend this to anyone, it’s the kind of film you just can’t miss.

Accused, A Review

Wrong time. Wrong place. Wrong man.

Accused follows Harri Bhavsar (Chaneil Kular, Sex Education), a young man whose life is turned upside down after he is mistakenly identified as a terrorist on twitter following a train station bomb threat. On his way home to dog-sit for his parents whilst they go on holiday, Harri narrowly misses being caught in the blast, which in itself causes media outrage and public fear. On twitter an old classmate of Harri’s then tweets that he shares a resemblance to the blurry suspect photo and suddenly his name is trending for all the wrong reasons.

Without any form of proof the entire world suddenly become convinced that Harri was responsible for the bombing, resulting in countless online and even telephone threats. Harri calls the police for help but is unable to receive any immediate action, leaving him on his own to face the media storm. Now stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no company but his family dog, can Harri make it through the night and clear this entire mess up or will those online make good on their threats and come and find him, putting him in a whole world of danger.

Accused was a brilliant take on how the spreading of false information can be deadly and how one rumour gone wrong can completely ruin someone’s life. From a single tweet in a single second Harri’s life completely changed and people instantly started going after him, all from something that wasn’t even true. The internet, social media especially, can be a breeding ground for false information and it really united this whole group of people in their hatred (however misplaced it was). A very modern feeling thriller, the online world was the real danger here and I liked how we touched on rumours spreading but also how easily accessible information can be and how quickly people tracked Harri down. It was a terrifying reality and the fear factor was very real here.

Most of the time the danger and threats in this film came from behind a screen and I liked how we got to explore the faceless villain and how people are able to talk a big game online with little to no consequences. This entire film kickstarted with one mistimed tweet and from that Harri was viciously attacked both online and then later in person. All of Harri’s attackers were able to use social media as this breeding ground that only got worse and worse as more people joined it but despite this nobody really faced any consequences. Aside from the two men who actually went to attack Harri in person everybody else presumably got off scot free, deleting their tweets and probably pretending it all never happened. I liked the added touch that we never actually saw the people tweeting at Harri, only hands typing, because once their tweets had been erased and the whole ordeal has ended they were basically forgotten, it was a nice touch.

Overall I enjoyed watching Accused and loved the way the film used social media in this very modern feeling thriller. With his whole life changed in seconds because of a single tweet, Harri must face his anonymous attackers head on and fight for survival in a deadly case of mistaken identity. A fast paced and exciting watch, Accused was an interesting take on cancel culture, social media and racism and I enjoyed watching thoroughly.

Insomnia, A Review

What’s happening to Emma? Why can’t she sleep?

Behind her Eyes Review.

Insomnia follows Emma, a woman who leads a seemingly perfect life despite her less than ideal childhood, now married with two children and working at a sucessful law firm. When Emma was younger however her life was forever ruled by her mentally ill Mother, whose strange nightime habits caused Emma and her sister Phoebe to constantly live in fear. Just before her 40th birthday Emma’s Mother finally snapped and attempted to kill Phoebe, leading to the two sisters to be taken into foster care. Now approaching her own 40th, Emma secretly worries her Mother’s madness is contagious, always labelled ‘the mad one’ when she was younger.

After a long string of sleepness nights Emma then begins her own unconscious mutterings, mimicking her own Mother’s habits which led to her full on breakdown. As things then begin to get worse and worse and Emma loses control of her own life, she must dig into her own past to find out what is really happening to her. Why fan’t Emma sleep and why is she behinning to replicate her own Mother’s breakdown? Is history repeating itself or is there something much darker at play here?

I absolutely loved this book and completely devoured the storyline. I always love a good thriller, especially ones that play around with paranoia and Insomnia was a complete master of the genre. Emma’s seemingly faltering mental health really drove the storyline and as she grew nearer and nearer to her 40th birthday party her entire world fell apart. As things got weirder and weirder I really began to wonder what the hell was going on and how everything, if it was in fact a hoax, was being pulled off. Books like this are always so clever and even with the slight fantasy tweaks, Insomnia managed to be both sinister and terrifying.

This book played on some very basic (and maybe even universal?) fears and absolutely ran wild, really playing around with Emma’s growing paranoia and insomnia. Not being able to sleep can be an absolute bitch and it really can drive you crazy (believe me I know). I also think mental health and the worry that you are ‘going insane’ can be a really scary thing and not having complete control of your surroundings can be massively unsettling. Although a fictional thriller novel, most of Insomnia was very reality based and so much of the scares came from Emma’s own mind and fears, it was scarily realistic.

I think because of the supernatural ending to Pinborough’s previous novel Behind Her Eyes, I really went into Insomnia believing absolutely anything could happen. Usually I’m not a fan of blending together crime and fantasy but in the right circumstances it can be used in a very clever way and having now read two of her books Pinborough seems to be a master of the craft. Whilst not quite as out there as Behind Her Eyes, I liked how Insomnia explored our past selves getting feelings about things yet to happen and how déjà vu can be a very real thing. Emma and her Mother had this connection and whilst it wasn’t completely rational I also don’t think it was completely unratiomal either, stranger things have definitely happened.

Overall I really loved this one and from only two books Pinborough is really shaping up to be one of my new favourite authors. I love the way she combines crime and fantasy in such a clever way because normally I’m completely against the idea. Here though I really loved the growing narrative of Emma’s paranoia and how everything around her seem to be getting worse and worse, it made for one hell of a read and it was both terrifying and massively entertaining.

The Strays, A Review

Be Afraid.

The Strays follows Neve (Ashley Madekwe, Tell Me a Story), a woman who has built up the perfect life for herself despite past hardships, now married to Ian (Justin Salinger) and Deputy Headmistress at a prestigious school where her two children Sebastian (Samuel Small) and Mary (Maria Almedia) attend. Neve is in the middle of planning a charity gala to honour her new social standing when her life begins to unravel, coinciding with the arrival of two new people in town. Neve, who is keen to highlight her whiter side and shows to disdain to anything ‘black’ is disturbed when two black people show up in her home and work, both keen to ruin her life for her past mistakes. Abigail (Bukky Bakray) and Marvin (Jorden Myrie) who have their own history with Neve seem hellbent on destroying her life whatever the cost. But who are these two people really and why are they so keen on undermining Neve? And more importantly does she deserve it?

The Strays definitely had the creep factor down and the film was really able to mirror Neve’s constant feeling of unease through its use of music, editing and location. Going into the film I only had a vague idea of the storyline but it became very clear that something bad was coming. Neve’s perfect life soon began to crack and as Abigail and Marvin wormed their way into her community her true personality came out and she really began to show her true colours through her fear. The Strays might not be the best horror I’ve ever seen, and it certainly had its issues, but one thing the film really excelled at was its atmosphere and the growing feeling of dread through Neve’s eyes.

Speaking of Neve she was certainly an interesting character but I must admit it was hard to root for her in any way, shape or form. Because of her racist tendencies and denial of her or her children’s black roots I just could not find a single redeemable quality in this woman and therefore did struggle with finding any sympathy for her in the film’s second half. On the flip side the film’s ‘villains’ were hardly the most sympathetic characters either so I just spent most of this film unsure of who I was actually meant to be rooting for. Unlikeable characters can be interesting if done correctly but in this case it just felt like a whole pile of terrible situations and crooked motivations, there really were no winners here.

I think The Strays is an example of storytelling so wild that it almost turns funny and the ending especially had me laughing out loud (even though I probably wasn’t supposed to). The fact Neve just up and left yet another family was completely shocking and unexcepted, like she just full on left? My shock seems to have been mirrored online as well and all anyone can talk about is the film’s hilariously bizarre end, I think it’s all the film is ever going to be remembered for (in both a good and bad way). The final 30 minutes in fact was completely insane and having to sit through Abigail and Marvin terrorising Neve and her family was just crazy, it was like one big hot mess I couldn’t tun away from.

Overall The Strays was definitely an interesting film and completely not what I expected at all. The story had the creep factor down but it was hard to really root for anyone since Neve was such a damn unlikeable character. The ending then completely took me by surprise and the whole thing was so crazy it was funny, I still can’t get over the fact she just up and left her family behind again. A wild ride from start to finish, The Strays was definitely a weird one but I’d still recommend purely for the absurdity of the ending alone.

Don’t Worry Darling, A Review

Are you ready to live the life you deserve?

Don’t Worry Darling follows Alice (Florence Pugh, Little Women) and Jack (Harry Styles), a couple living in the idylic town of Victory, California. Jack works at the town’s nearby ‘Victory project’ and Alice stays at home, making lavish meals, throwing dinner parties and socialising with the other women of Victory. The pair live the perfect life and with Jack’s upcoming promotion it’s about to get even better. Perfection is interrupted however when fellow Victory resident Margaret (KiKi Layne) disturbs the peace at a local party and begins shouting that ‘they are lying to us’. Everybody brushes Margaret’s concerns away but Alice then sees her cut her own throat and get escorted away by a group of men in red.

Inquiring about Margaret’s health, Alice is repeatadly shut down or ignored by those around her. Realising that she knows almost nothing about the town or what her husband even does Alice begins investigating Victory, leading to some devestating consequences. What is Victory really and what is the Victory project? Can Alice get to the truth before it’s too late or will she be shunned away and end up just like Margaret did?

There has been so much drama surrounding the production of this film and it’s become an almost second layer of entertainment to the film itself. With supposed cast fallouts, a spitting incedent and even apparent scene cuttings, the behind the scenes of Don’t Worry Darling has just been just as exciting and messy as the actual storyline of Don’t Worry Darling. Every week it seemed like there was news regarding the film and the whole thing just had me gripped and if anything made me want to even more, it’s certianly an interesting promotion technique I’ll give them that.

Don’t Worry Darling had such a brilliantly done aesthetic and I loved the 50s attire, music and general symmetry of the neighbourhood. Everything was just so perfectly done and really represented the nature of Victory and the ‘American Dreamness’ of the entire town. The way everything was shot and shown in perfect symmetry, with the perfect clothes and perfect hair really hammered home the main themes if the film and I just loved the entire vibe.

The actual storyline of Don’t Worry Darling was definitely exciting and I really loved trying to figure out the truth behind the Victory Project alongside Alice. The film itilised a lot of classic thriller tropes and I just loved the general unease of the situation. The end reveal wasn’t exactly the twist to end all twists (and I’ve seen a few people heavily compare the film to The Stepford Wives) but I think the film’s other aspects definitely made up for this.

Performance wise, Don’t Worry Darling really was a marvel. Florence Pugh was absolutely amazing as Alice and I loved following her character journey. Pugh was likeable and such a compelling lead, she really acted her socks off. Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians) and Chris Pine were also brilliant as Shelley and Frank respectively and they were brilliant oppisite Pugh as the ‘perfect couple’ and stern leaders of the Victory Project, they were both chilling. Harry Styles I have to say was definitely the film’s weak link and some of his acting wasn’t amazing but oppisite such great stars he’s probably always going to look inferior, he wasn’t terrible by any means but some of his more emotional parts really didn’t feel as real to me and some of the other cast.

Overall I really enjoyed Don’t Worry Darling. The film was just brilliantly done and I loved the 50s aesthetic and overall vibes of the whole story. Alice’s life in Victory and eventual investigation into the town made for an exciting thriller and Florence Pugh absolutely knocked it out of the park. Despite this film’s seemingly endless drama the final product was amazing and I really enjoyed the viewing experience.

Surface, A Review

How can you solve the mystery of your own memory loss?

Surface follows Sophie Ellis (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, The Girl Before), a woman who wakes from an apparent suicide attempt with no memory of her past or any of the people in her life. Moving back home, Sophie attempts to reconnect with husband James (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, The Haunting of Bly Manor) and best friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) but finds herself at odds with the pair, struggling to fit in to her old life. One night whilst out with Caroline, Sophie notices apparent stranger Baden (Stephan James), who appears to be following her. Baden explains that he was the cop assigned to Sophie’s case and before she lost her memory the two had been working together. Sophie discovers that millions of dollars have gone missing from an account at James’ workplace and James himself is prime suspect.

Sophie and Baden begin to suspect James took the money and may have even pushed Sophie to keep her quiet, causing Sophie to reevaluate her entire ‘accident’. Things however aren’t always as they seem and the truth begind Sophie’s accident may lie in her past just as much as it does the present. Can Sophie figure out how and why she came to lose her memory or will she be forced to live her life forever in the dark?

Surface admittedly had a bit of a slow start and for the first half of the series I honestly wasn’t that invested. The series had a pretty simple premise and the storyline just felt like your basic run of the mill thriller. Sophie had suffered a near death experirience, lost her memory and suspected her husband wasn’t all he seemed, I’d read or watch countless other stories with the same set up. It wasn’t that I wasn’t enjoying what I was watching exactly but due to the slow start Surface really did fail to wow me in it’s first half, the second half however was a different story…

Around halfway through the series it was revealed that Sophie wasn’t nearly as nice as we’d been led to believe and it was in fact her that had caused many of the issues so far. Living her life as a con-artist of sorts, Sophie had lied her way into James’ life and then the pair had schemed their way up the career ladder with Sophie constantly wanting more. This reveal definitely put a spin on things and it put all of the characters in a new light, really changing how I saw things. Like I said above Surface had been very run of the mill up to this point so I did really enjoy the twist here. It was interesting as well for Sophie to have to come to terms with this darker part of herself and decide how she wanted to move forward, it made for some great character moments.

Towards the end of the series it did become increasingly difficult to decide who was trustworthy and who wasn’t, which I think is always the sign of a good thriller. Both James and Baden had been built up as solid love interests for Sophie with equal share of shadiness and reliability. Both presented a compelling argument for their case and I did genuinely flip between the pair constantly. Either one could be telling the truth and either one of them could also have pushed Sophie himself, it was certianly a great puzzle and I enjoyed trying to put everything together and decide who to trust.

I feel like the ending of Surface definitely left things open for a second season but it would be following a very different kind of story. Now that Sophie has returned to England and is free from her former life (for the most part), she must now focus on her own past, especially her connection with Eliza (). Much of Sophie’s past was left still a mystery and whatever happened to her when she was younger is definitely a mystery I’d be open to watching, especially with Mbatha-Raw continuing as the lead.

Overall Surface was an enjoyable watch. Initially the plot did seem pretty predictable but the midway twist definitely shook things up and I really liked this new perspective on things. Mbatha-Raw was a great series lead and I loved her portrayl of Sophie, with the role allowing for a layered and complex performance. An overall interesting thriller, I would definitely tune in for a potential season two.

This Might Hurt, A Review

We’ll keep your secrets… If you keep ours.

The Recovery of Rose Gold Review.

This Might Hurt follows Natalie Collins, a Boston workaholic who recieves an email one day that threatens to tear her entire life apart. Natalie’s sister Kit has been staying at the Wisewood wellness retreat for the last six months and the centre email Natalie, threatening to reveal her big secret.

Desperate to tell Kit herself, Natalie frantically travels to Wisewood and demands entry, having no idea what she has just walked into. Wisewood is a curious place, promising to rid its vistors from their fear and chamge their lives for the better, whatever the cost. Natalie walks in fully intending to save her sister from the madness but six months is a long time and Kit might just be too long gone to save.

I think that because of this book’s blurb Wisewood was built up to be this incredible fortress that was going to be near impossible to escape from when in reality it was nearly the exact oppisite. Granted we didn’t actually spend much time with Natalie at Wisewood (more on that later) but if anything Natalie was encouraged- or even begged- to leave multiple times and she infact only stuck around through her own choice. The literal tagline to this book was ‘It’s hard to get into but impossible to leave’ but I just did not get this impression at all. Don’t get me wrong Wisewood was a fantastic setting and I loved the build up of the cult through Kit’s POV but with Natalie we didn’t soend nearly enough time there which was disappointing as she was arguably the main character. I just wish we’d spent slightly more time in Natalie’s POV rather than Kit or Rebecca’s just so we could het a better insight into Wisewood from an outsider’s perspectice.

I really enjoyed each of the 3 POV’s and how they helped build up the story, each woman had her own connection to Wisewood and through all of them we got a fully fleshed out experience of the place. The alternating chapters between the two sisters gave a great insight into the family dynamic and Natalie and Kit’s childhoods and Rebecca’s own backstory made for a compelling read. I think my only comment on the alternating chapters is that I wish the three had alternated the entire novel instead of in parts, so instead of just focussing on one sister we’d get all three stories running simultaneously.

It’s always interesting in these cult based novels (eg Fog Island) to see the development of said cult and how its leaders manage to convince the characters to stay. Wisewood was all about overcoming fear and I think Rebecca was able to manipulate by using percieved favouritism and emotional blackmail. Kit went in fairly skeptical but ended up being the most devoted at all and so her progress was definitely interesting to read. Rebecca’s own backstory and how she came to form Wisewood was also interesting and her childhood and the points system made for a compelling character study. I also liked how Wrobel incorporated magic into a cult leader because they are very magical people in a way, they certianly need to know how to work an audience one way or another.

Overall This Might Hurt was an enjoyable read and I loved the three alternating POV’s and build up of Wisewood through the flashbacks. Rebecca’s backstory was an intense one and I loved how Wisewood grew from her mistakes, I only wish we’d got to spend a bit more time there. Overall though This Might Hurt was a great second novel for Wrobel and I’ll definitely be checking out anything she writes in the future.

The House Across the Lake, A Review

You’ve seen too much…

Final Girls Review. The Last Time I Lied Review. Lock Every Door Review. Home Before Dark Review. Survive the Night Review.

SPOILER WARNING. I WILL BE DISCUSSING BIG PLOT TWISTS IN THIS NOVEL SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The House Across the Lake follows Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress who has been banished to her family’s lake house because of her recent struggles with alcoholism. Casey spiralled into depression after her husband Len’s death and now finds comfort in bourbon, having been fired from her only stable acting job. At the lake house Casey spends her days drinking and spying on the neighbours through a pair of binoculars, having become obsessed with the couple across the lake. Katherine Royce and her husband Tom are the ultimate power couple and Casey begins repeatedly spying on them and obsessively watching their lives.

One day however Casey notices an argument break out between the pair and then begins seeing both clearly hiding things from the other. When Katherine then goes missing, Casey immediately suspects Tom has done something to her and sets out to prove it, whatever the cost. The Royce’s however are hiding a dark secret and inserting herself into their lives may do more harm than good. Can Casey get to the truth of Katherine’s disappearance or will her spying on the neighbours lead to her own tragic downfall?

The unreliable narrator witnessing a terrible crime is admittedly a story type that has been done time and time again (The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window, etc) but I have to admit it’s a sub genre I always love returning to. Yes, it might have been done countless times at this point but there’s a reason it works so well and a reason it’s so so popular amongst the crime fiction world. I always love seeing how each author puts their own spin on the genre and Sager here is no exception, I loved his take on the concept and I had such a good time reading this novel.

Casey was such a great and instantly likeable character and I really enjoyed following her POV across this mystery. Her own struggles with alcoholism and tragic past with husband Len gave her an intense backstory and set her up nicely into the unreliable narrator trope. Despite those around her not always taking her accusations seriously Casey fought strongly to find Katherine, often putting her own life in danger to do the right thing. Casey’s spying on the Royce’s felt very relatable and I think that everybody does have that natural curiosity about the people living next door to them and this is exactly what this novel is all about.

The titular lake house and ongoing storm definitely added to the book’s darker atmosphere and I really loved how isolated Casey was to the rest of the outside world. Reading this book there were essentially only six characters (plus some phone conversations) and so you could really feel Casey’s seclusion and how this did then turn into paranoia. When you’re all alone in the dark your mind often does play tricks on you or jump to the worst conclusions and I think here the storm and lack of any human contact really played on Casey’s psyche, prompting her to begin investigating properly. The dark and stormy weather also played into that horror factor and I loved the image of the house across the lake being one of the only light sources, almost forcing Casey to spy for lack of anything better to do, it was great visual imagery.

The twist in this novel definitely took me back and even now as I’m writing this I’m still debating whether I actually liked it or not. I’m usually not a fan of supernatural elements, especially when you don’t expect them, and so the whole body swapping plotline really took me by surprise. Up until this point the novel had been 100% based in reality and so having Len ‘live in’ Katherine or however you want to phrase it just seemed so crazy and out there. I kept waiting for the whole thing to be explained away or passed off as a joke but the characters took everything completely seriously, so I’m still not sure how I really feel.

Overall The House Across the Lake was an enjoyable read and another great success by Sager, he’s definitely one of my favourite authors. The set up, characters and stormy atmosphere all created a really gripping mystery and I think my only issue with the book was the bizzare plot twist. Overall though I liked Sager’s interpretation of the unreliable narrator trope and can’t wait to see what he comes out with next.

Watcher, A Review

Who’s watching you?

Watcher follows Julia (Maika Monroe), an American woman who moves to Romania with her husband Francis (Karl Glusman, Gypsy) after he gets a job promotion. Whereas Francis speaks the language and has no trouble fitting in, Julia struggles to acclimatise herself and spends most of her days alone. Staring out of her large apartment window one day Julia notices a man (Burn Gorman, Enola Holmes) in the window across the street who appears to spend his days just staring at her.

Brushing it off first, Julia then becomes concerned when a famed serial killer nicknamed the spider begins roaming the streets and she becomes convinced that it is the man across the window. Raising her concerns to Francis, she is gently brushed off with him believing she simply has as an overactive imagination. Deciding to investigate herself, Julia begins following the stranger, potentially putting herself in grave danger. But is this man a brutal serial killer or is Julia’s imagination really just hetting the better of her?

In terms of storyline Watcher is definitely
not anything new but the genre is one I know and love and will always be happy to return to. Thrillers where the lead protagonist spies on a couple or singular person and begins to suspect them of a crime will always be one of my favourite story tropes and even if nothing new is added I feel like I can always sit back and enjoy one of these films, TV shows or books. Watcher is exactly what it says in the title but I still had a lot of fun with this one I can definitely see myself re-visiting on a rainy day.

It may sound weird but I liked how the film chose not to translate the Romanian from the other characters, meaning we really saw (and heard) everything through Julia’s eyes. Because we were just as in the dark as her language wise, we too felt just as isolated and for most of the film Julia was the only character we could understand. One of the main themes in Watcher is being alone and feeling isolated and I think because we couldn’t understand what half of the cast were saying this really ran true and conveyed the messahe a lot more strongly.

The Romanian setting definitely added an extra touch to Watcher and I really loved the moody scenery and picturesque country, I feel like it really contributed to the overall vibe of the film. Julia’s isolation is one of the main themes within the film and so most of the story we follow her and only her, going shopping, sitting in cafés and generally moping around. The setting here definitely contributed to the film’s overall effect and I think location is always important in these types of thrillers. The main objective was to make the audience empathise with Julia and feel alone and I definitely got that feeling from watching, further improving my viewing experience.

Overall I really enjoyed this film, the premise might not be anything new or exciting but it’s a genre I’ve come to know and love and enjoy any variation of. Watcher really isolated its audience through the Romanian language and I liked how we could really relate to Julia on this level. That city setting and constant moody feeling also really added to the films tension and I just really love this film, it was a great watch.