Sitges 09: SHADOW Review

Having not in the least bit of affection for Rob Zombie's forays into film making I approached this one from another rock-star-turned-horror-director with some trepidation. The debut feature from Italian pop rock star Federico Zampaglione harks back in no subtle way to horror legends Argento, Bava and Deodato in its treatment of the backwoods horror flick. In a topical twist on proceedings, Shadow centres on young soldier, David, who upon returning from the war in Iraq embarks on a mountain biking holiday in a wintry Europe. After the briefest and most perfunctory of set-ups, he bumps into a couple of hick hunters intent on tormenting the local hottie, Angeline. David steps into the fray and a terrifying chase takes off. As the violence escalates and they battle for survival we're suddenly plunged into an even greater nightmare as they face a common enemy lurking in the woods. Captured, they awake on operating tables manned by an emaciated Dr. Caligari-esque figure, Mortis.

To say the characters are roughly sketched would be a huge compliment. The hunters are functionally portrayed to the point of abstract evil (or a 'baddie' from an early Seagal movie) and the blooming relationship between David and Angeline goes through the motions purely to move the narrative forward. But this is, after all, Italian horror and no-one ever praised Tenebre for its convincing character portrayals. It's all about atmosphere and mercifully once the story proper kicks in it becomes a far more visual and idea driven film in keeping with the genre pieces it apes. Zampaglione has an eye for some striking imagery too. The early woodland chase with David and Angeline clad in orange parkas whizzing through the misty landscape on their bikes is visually thrilling and later scenes with the sickening Mortis explicitly recall early German expressionist cinema.

Indeed Zampaglione's film is steeped in visual cues from the genre's extensive history, from a heart-stopping Seventh Seal nod to echoes of recent torture porn, though in a well-judged move the violence is used sparingly with the point of contact often out of shot, instead focusing on the results of injury. A driving Argento-esque rock score underlines the increasingly surreal action well and plants the film in a nostalgic 70s/80s tradition whilst the denouement brings the film right back to topicality where the tag line that 'reality can be sicker than nightmares' is horribly borne out.

Shadow is clearly a labour of love for Zampaglione, with numerous family members contributing in some way to its construction, and subsequent endorsement from Argento and Deodato. That it becomes something more than the homage of parts it could have been is praise indeed, even if the final pay off never feels quite as clever or profound as it would like. It's an imaginative piece of cinema that plays on your mind far more than you might expect, and proves not all rock star turned directors have to be quite so blunt as Zombie.

You can check out the trailer here.