the drowned
Directed by: Samuel Clemens
Starring: Corrinne Wicks, Alan Calton, Lara Lemon, Lili Catalifo, Dominic Vulliamy
After pulling off an art heist, three men arrive at a secluded coastal safe house to discover their fourth accomplice missing. Was one of them responsible, or is there a malevolent ancient myth lurking at the water's edge?
Whilst The Drowned doesn't really offer anything new, it at least has a lot of style and is well put together.
The film opens following Eric (Alan Calton), for a silent ten minutes of screentime, and the scenes are very compelling, drawing the audience in with huge questions about his actions. We watch as he wipes the car he was driving erasing his fingerprints, and switching number plates with the car nearby. He walks to a large, solitary bungalow overlooking the sea…
Eventually his partner in crime - and lover - Matt, arrives and it becomes more and more apparent that their flawless heist of a Waterhouse painting (Hylas and the Nymphs, 1896) went perfectly, their getaway is coming off the rails, as Matt's mother - the fourth member of their little gang - Is missing.
So far, so good: we have ourselves something of a Reservoir Dogs situation, joining the narrative after the actual heist. Its at this point things start to get weird and a bit obtuse for the viewer, as the characters are hit with images, which must only last about a couple of frames of screentime (it wasn't until the end of the film that I got what they were), and strange female voices in their ears. Just as they start to ask themselves why they have all unconsciously walked out of the house on to the beach, at the same time, there's a knock at the door and we are introduced to three women in need of assistance and a place to stay.
Things become convoluted - the guys try to come up with a cover story to explain why they are staying at the house, while the women are definitely more than they seem, although the men seem to be oblivious to it. The women - especially Opal, are not dumb and tease at the tale they've spun about a bachelor party…
The film has a very crisp look to it, and the images of the sea, with the immersive sound, really captures the viewer. Long drone shots skimming across the water, aiming for the house, also add some dynamic quality to proceedings - especially the final shot of the film which owes more than a nod to The Evil Dead.
The film's issue is the nature of the supernatural threat itself, and how you interpret it. The little image blips that hit the three guys are frustrating because they're just not there long enough to understand. I'm sure you can go frame by frame to see them but who wants to do that when actually watching a film? Another element, introduced late on, reveals some dark secrets amongst the thieves, but they are not given time to be fleshed out, to make any real impact - only the viewer becomes aware of them.
THE VERDICT
A well acted mash-up of post-heist movie and supernatural shenanigans, something which I enjoy very much. Its well acted, and leans in to the imagery of the sea and the coast very nicely. It also gets points for the final shot, and for finally revealing the painting they've stolen.