Lord of Tears

Many people associate the genre of horror with blood, guts and gore of movies like Saw and Friday The 13th, and while they aren't wrong, they aren't necessarily seeing the whole picture that encompasses the genre.  Blood and gore isn't really there to scare people, per se, but to shock and disgust.  While I'm certainly drawn to those kinds of movies, sometimes the better movie is one that involves NONE of that.  A movie that is atmospheric and instills a sense of foreboding and dread.  The horror genre was designed, primarily, to instill a sense of fear in the audience, and for most of us, it really doesn't happen that much anymore, because more and more movies are more focused on how to torture and slaughter their victims.  That's not scary.  It's cringe-inducing, and sometimes not in a good way.  Some of the more effective horror films are far more atmospheric and focus more on the story and the characters, like a good movie should do.  Some of the more atmospheric films include the old Hammer horror films of the 50's and 60's.  That brings me to Lord of Tears, a horror film that relies more on atmosphere and old mythologies to give the audience a sense of dread.

Lord of Tears opens on a teacher, James(Euan Douglas), being informed that he is the sole inheritor of a vast property which includes an old house in Scotland.  He is also given a letter from his late mother, telling him NOT to go back to the house, due to his experiences as a child.  James decides to go to the house and explore, to try and remember his childhood.  He encounters a lovely American woman, named Eve(Lexy Hulme), and they begin to explore the house.  The more James explores the house, the more he begins to experience visions of a disturbing being, a being that has the body of a man, but the talons and head of an owl.  Is he going insane?  Or is there something more sinister at work?  The story is unique and has a few unexpected twists and turns.  It's dark and foreboding and pretty intense.

The acting is actually not bad, more than what I would've expected from a low-budget horror movie.  Euan Douglas does a pretty good job as a teacher that's haunted by his past and tortured by visions of an "owl man."  Lexe Hulme is beautiful and does a good job at bringing a sense of mystery to the film.  And boy, what a mystery it is.  This movie is a bit of a slow-burner, so people who are more interested in getting scared right away, are most likely to be disappointed.  Where this movie really succeeds is allowing us to tag along with the characters and experience what they are experiencing.  It's more of a journey and character study on how one would deal with a paranormal/supernatural situation, that may or may not be driven by psychosis.  That being said, there is actually very little in the way of actual violence, even though there is some blood, but it's not hard R-rated violence, in fact, I would consider it PG-13 in a way.

While the main leads are human, the real characters of this film are the house, the surrounding areas, the music and of course, the owl man who I will get to momentarily.  This is a gorgeously shot film, taking place almost entirely in Scotland, with extremely beautiful vistas and mountain ranges that really add to the film's atmosphere.  The cinematography is astounding and the attention to detail, from the mountains, to the house, to the worms crawling on the ground.  It is very artistic and very beautiful to look at, especially if you've got this movie on Blu-Ray.  It's stunning.  On the audio side, the music is excellent.  It's haunting and beautiful to listen to.  It has a very Gothic feel to it that really complements everything that you see.  It's not heavy-metal, thankfully, it's more instrumental, slow and methodical.  It's impressive.  The sounds of the house and everything in the environment is appropriately spooky. Now, about the Owl Man:  The character is a man with the head and talons of an owl.  He is voiced by David Schofield, who you might remember as one of the villains in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  I have no idea what any of the lines he says means, but he says it with such deliberately quiet malice, that it doesn't matter, this is a character to be feared.  He is also referred to as Moloch, an actual mythological god from ancient Phoenicia, who accepted child sacrifices by fire, and referenced even in the bible. 

If there is one downside is that the ending to the movie is a little cliche, but that's it.  Overall, what we have here is a very unique film with a unique experience.  It's extremely atmospheric and really sends shivers down your spine.  The character of Owl Man is appropriately menacing and memorable and I hope to see more of him in the future.  The visuals and music of Lord of Tears are something to behold.  Is it a mystery?  Is it a ghost story, or a supernatural thriller?  It's all of the above.  Lawrie Brewster put together an amazing film that has surprisingly high-production values, despite it's low-budget nature.  If any of you are sick and tired of the gore-fests and torture movies, and want a more intelligent and thoughtful film, Lord of Tears is definitely for you.  It's an experience.  Overall, I give Lord of Tears a 9.5/10.  Check this one out.