Shadow (2009)
There is a fine rivulet of horror cinema that likes to heave man or woman into the unknown wilderness to see how he or she fares when divorced from the trappings of modern civilisation. Whether these forces are mortal (Deliverance) or immortal (The Blair Witch Project), from the cannibal cycle (the savage) to the absurd (Don’t Go In The Woods), or the crazy (The Evil Dead) to the comic (The Evil Dead 2) these films pitch their victims against primal forces, and turn a mirror on the morals and manners of the period of their making. Well received during its Frightfest premiere of 2009 the Italian grotesque Shadow finds its way onto DVD this month, the first release of their newly hatched publishing arm, and whilst it’s far from being an exemplar of the genre it should appeal to the completest crowd, if only for an unexpected if not wholly original final twist on the tale.
An Iraq war veteran is embarking on a remote cycling trek through an undisclosed yet beautiful European mountain range. Haunted by nightmares of the atrocities he has witnessed Dave hopes that this idyllic trek will purge of the atrocities he has witnessed, and provide him with a clean slate on which to build a new life back amongst civilised society. Taking a well-earned break in a remote alpine bistro (ominously called The Shadow) Dave intervenes in the harassment of a lone woman by a duo of heavy-set mountain dwelling denizens, a brave yet stupid move as this affront to their macho preening is sure to result in a future confrontation. After platonically hooking up with his rescued maiden they become travelling companion through the gentleman countryside, after fending off a vicious assault they flee deep into the woods with their assailants in tow, but in this mist shrouded glade they are about to discover that there are worse things abroad than a duo of vengeance seeking rednecks…
Musician turned director Federico Zamplagione certainly provides some effective chills and a brooding soundtrack but this is very much a film of pros and cons. The acting is inept, even when submerged under an avalanche of screams and the movies meager budget is betrayed by frequent allusions to off-screen conflicts. On the other hand Shadow boasts some fine photography and a real sense of isolation, although the terror is somewhat diluted when the central villain is revealed to be an emaciated Richard O’ Brien celebrity impersonator. There are flashes of a macabre charm spattered over the films transient 77 minute run-time, the inclusions in the creatures portrait gallery of evil will rise a wry grin amongst more politically inclined viewers and a previously unseen (if you’ll excuse the pun) example of torturous removal should also generate a choir of disgusted groans. Quite refreshingly any metaphors of the Eye-Rack (again, I’m sorry) conflict are dodged and Dave’s military credentials are only referenced for plot purposes, the film doesn’t want or need to speculate on foreigners adrift in hostile territory, preferring as it does to aim for a sense of dread and mystery instead. What on the surface seems another tedious torture horror monstrosity has a more intriguing twist in its final moments, and in that sense Shadow is a fresher feast than most of its lo-fi contemporaries.
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