Writer-director Joe Fria's debut feature 'Shadows of Willow Cabin' attempts to blend elevated horror with a fraught two-handed gay drama, but the result is a talky, low-budget chiller that fails to fully realize its ambitious themes. The film, which runs 114 minutes, follows middle-aged English teacher Albert (Bryan Bellomo) and paramedic Devon (John Brodsky) as they meet through a dating app and retreat to Albert's childhood summer home, Willow Cabin, named after a line in Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night.' What begins as a horny hookup quickly unravels as buried secrets surface, including Albert's wife and son, his past sexual exploration with his cousin at the same cabin, and Devon's history of unfulfilling liaisons with married men, stemming from abuse by his father.
Horror elements disrupt the drama
The best elevated horror uses metaphor to explore emotional subtext, but Fria struggles to make that leap. For much of the film, sporadic phantom eruptions inside the cabin interrupt what is otherwise a compelling drama about repressed homosexuality, compulsive hookups, and generational trauma. The horror elements feel abrupt and out of place, waylaying the narrative rather than enhancing it. According to the review, the film 'painstakingly seeps out in 114 minutes full of circuitous and sometimes cheesy dialogue,' and Fria takes too long to move beyond pantomime gothic to find a deeper rooting for what could be a compelling saga of familial shame and damage.
Visual inventiveness amid claustrophobic bounds
Despite its flaws, the film showcases Fria's visual creativity within its claustrophobic setting. He lights interiors to match the mood, giving them a pallid wash as the atmosphere sours. On a couple of occasions, he employs a revolving shot reminiscent of Alfonso Cuarón's work in 'Roma,' letting the sounds outside the cabin amplify the tension. While Brodsky's outbursts align with the film's erratic fright-night side, Bellomo's performance lends substance to the narrative. 'Beyond the cultured exterior Bellomo has a pugnacious set to his jaw that lends substance to this would-be primer in escaping the binds of the past,' the review notes. However, Fria ultimately 'couldn't fully manifest his themes in a killer conceit.'
A personal but uneven debut
'Shadows of Willow Cabin' feels highly personal, but its execution is uneven. The film's circuitous dialogue and slow pacing may test viewers' patience, and the horror elements never fully integrate with the dramatic core. The review concludes that while the film has issues on its mind, it 'sadly can't make the leap' to effective elevated horror. 'Shadows of Willow Cabin' is available on digital platforms from 29 June.
