Grace (2009) dir: Paul Solet

It seems the days are gone where a small independent horror film would premier at the Sundance film festival to become a breakout horror hit through word of mouth and buzz. Since The Blair Witch Project in 1999 became the most profitable movie of all time, there have been many low budget shocker’s that garnered critical praise and buzz at Sundance to then not do much of anything when they went into the wide world. Titles that spring to mind from recent years are May, The Signal and Hatchet which remained cult items and never broke out the way they should have. Only Gareth Edward’s Monsters has resembled anything of a crossover recently but even so its popular with those who have seen it rather than anything approaching a mainstream hit. It seems the process now is to debut on an on demand basis before opening in a couple of theatres weeks later. It’s a strange new world indeed, and one that in some cases robs you of the opportunity to see great films on the big screen in a dark room the way the makers intended. Paul Solet’s directorial debut Grace is one such film. The Sundance premiere in 2009 was greeted with much critical praise and the now pre-requisite audience member fainting. The film then received a low key almost straight to DVD release later that year and has so far not been officially released in the UK. Grace remembers the golden rule that most other horror film’s forget; Horror should be horrific and make you as uncomfortable as possible.

The film begins with happy young couple Madeline and Michael Matheson (Jordan Ladd and Stephen Park) conceiving a child, flash forward some months later and Madeline (a strict vegan) is having the baby naturally and through holistic medicine with the help of her former lover Patricia Lang (Samantha Ferris) much to the disapproval of her mother in law Vivian (Gabrielle Rose). Tragedy strikes when on the way home a car accident leaves Michael dead and the baby is Madeline’s womb seemingly lifeless. Madeline decides to carry the baby to term anyway and to everyone's surprise her baby girl is born seemingly alive and healthy. Madeline takes Grace home without ever having visited a hospital and starts to notice things. Flies seem to buzz around her daughter all the time and she smells weird. Grace rejects her mothers milk and is seemingly only sated by consuming blood. Meanwhile Vivian, bereaved and frustrated, deals with strange feelings of her own and suspicions about her daughter in law and granddaughter.

The film does not shy away from the biological implications of pregnancy, it shows you all the gory details that you may not wish to know and taps into the natural fear of being a father or a mother and all that can go wrong with that. It also goes to some seriously weird places previously unseen outside of Japan with the sub plot involving the mother in law. This is the films key strength though, it makes you uncomfortable as you watch all of this unfold and puts you in the place of the characters and makes you question what you would do faced with a similar situation. Jordan Ladd really shine in this role, she has the audiences sympathies throughout. She starts off as a keen happy expectant mother and as the macabre tale unfolds she goes from devastation to relief and then to disbelief as her feelings of hope for her baby disintegrate into disgust and desperation. Gabrielle Rose is an actress I have seen in a number of bit parts but the role here is a real juicy one, she is brave actress to take on this character which goes to some really strange places and is believable as a woman who has always been in control and now dealing with new feelings she does not comprehend. Paul Solet does a great job of directing this and getting solid work from his actors. His style is very reminiscent of David Lynch, he likes to hold shots for a long time and focus on strange little details like Patricia scratching away at wood on a desk drawer or the buzzing of flies in an air vent. Grace should have been a step up for Solet and we should now be talking about a masterpiece that he directed as a follow up but it seems this was not on the cards. Grace is not a flawless film, for all the tension building and the great atmosphere that solet conjures up it lets itself down by becoming somewhat formulaic in the last twenty minutes when your traditional horror clichés rear their head. Luckily Solet ends the film with a horrifying last shot that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.

At the moment Grace does not have an official release date in the UK and has so far only played a couple of festivals on these shores. The DVD has been available on Region 1 for a while and if you are a fan of well crafted proper horror you should seek it out.

by Chris Holt

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