A group of friends travel to the woods for a ‘once in a lifetime experience’ in new anthology movie, Lore. Their secret activity is sitting around a campfire with Richard Brakes’s guide exchanging spooky stories. The group are reluctant at first, but their guide is a very persuasive man, and before you know it each of them is casting a wooden totem into the flames and recounting a fable that haunts them.
Anthology films are always a tricky prospect for the viewer. With several voices telling their own story in their own style it can be hard for the audience to figure out ahead of time if there will be anything that they will engage with. Typically though there will be at least one story to please everyone. Lore sticks to the scattergun approach, each of its stories trying to cover a cornerstone of the horror genre. Tales of demons, ghosts, the occult, and killers populate Lore, and the varied styles and tones should mean that most people will come away at least partially satisfied.
Each segment in itself, is well made, the overall experience of Lore is that of watching a carefully curated short film showcase. The first, Shadows, from writer and director James Bushe, kicks off the proceedings well. Starring Andrew Lee Potts, Shadows sees a man fleeing the local criminal contingent. As he hides, a creature starts picking off his tormentors. Things aren’t necessarily quite what they appear as Bushe’s story spins some interesting ideas. It’s a bold beginning, rightly full of action and gore, and gets the audience ready for what is to follow.
Next up comes the more traditional haunted house story in Patrick Michael Ryder’s The Hidden Woman. This section is a more standard telling of a mother and son who find themselves the targets of the dead after moving into an old family home. Whilst Ryder sticks closely to convention, he does manage to pull off a couple of great scare moments. Third story, Cross Your Heart from writer and director Greig Johnson, is wickedly dark. Starring Rufus Hound and Katie Sheridan, Johnson’s short weaves a wonderfully devious tale of a married couple’s attempt at swinging. The story offers plenty of catharsis for those who have had to deal with toxic partners.
After action, chills, and wicked thrills, Lore arrives at its comedy section. For this finale, Ryder and Bushe combine forces and deliver a crowd-pleasing slasher. Set during a late-night screening, in The Keychain Man three friends find themselves in a fight for their lives when one of the cinema staff starts murdering people. Humour is stuffed into every scene with Ryder and Bushe’s intention being to leave the viewer on as much of a high as they can. After an initial set-up, the pair get to work murdering the onscreen fodder in as bloody and violent ways as possible. An ingenious death involving a popcorn scoop is brilliantly rendered with practical effects, and once again offers some audience catharsis, this time for the cinema workers past and present watching.
In terms of quality, Lore is pleasingly consistent. Though created by different minds, the consistent lens of cinematographer Scott Coulter maintains cohesion. The overall viewing experience of Lore is very much that of being sat around a campfire with friends recounting scary ideas.
Lore
Summary
How much mileage the viewer will get from Lore will depend entirely on their own threshold for anthologies and how broad their horror tastes are.
Lore was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2023.
