Have you seen a good drama film that has elements of horror? The Little Stranger maybe that film. Take a read.
The Little Stranger is an excellent drama that keeps you hooked and guessing right to the end, with tightly knitted performances by Domhall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, and Will Poulter but the star is director Lenny Abrahamson who so brilliantly blends several genres together.
Plot: During the long, hot summer of 1948, Dr. Faraday travels to Hundreds Hall, home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries. The Hall is now in decline, and its inhabitants — mother, son, and daughter — remain haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life. When Faraday takes on a new patient there, he has no idea how closely the family’s story is about to become entwined with his own.
Analysis: With an all British cast, there is much to admire about The Little Stranger. My favorite aspect of the film is easily is the theme of genre-blending and manipulation. Director Lenny Abrahamson has explained in great detail how he approached the drama and horror genre with a serious undertone to it, which in execution distorts clear genre traits that audiences have come to know.
Comedy and romance are sprinkled throughout which helps keep audiences afloat when the drama and tragedy kicks off.
Recent horror releases include the Saw, Halloween, and Conjuring series which are all true horror series, with plenty of guts and core to penetrate any dramatic situation. The performances are very bold. Our lead is Domhall Gleeson who plays a very sturdy doctor with additional roles of Will Poulter and Ruth Wilson, who are all brilliant.
Our first introduction to the horror elements of the film comes very unexpectedly as the film takes the time to set the scene and lets us take in the environment of the house. You can feel and hear every crack and footstep in the house.
After a while, the house begins to take the shape of a mysterious and menacing character of its own, however, unlike most horror films, the horror is manipulative as we don’t always know what the intentions are behind various hauntings that occur throughout the film, which makes the characters completely at the forefront of the horror drama.
Several of the cast members have argued that the film is not a straight-up horror film and this is definitely true. The actual horror elements are always well balanced with character discussions, this is a more intelligent and thought-provoking version of a slasher flick where you feel that every character has an importance to the story.
The film is shot by Ole Bratt Birkeland who lensed such delights as Judy and the film has a very immersive quality to it which is important for a film like this. To get the record straight, the film is not trying to be a horror film, although the film is frightening at times because it blends gory images with character drama.
The filmmakers may not agree with me, but I’m hoping this form of filmmaking is the way forward for horror films in the future, rather than make a mindless gorefest, make the horror stand for something, give us a reason as to why we should feel invested in these characters, therefore the gore has an emotional impact that goes beyond mindless entertainment.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good horror mashup when I see one, I really enjoyed 2009’s Friday the 13th and I actually found it very frightening, but films like The Others, Signs, and The Little Stranger place the characters at the forefront of the drama.
The Little Stranger I’m hoping paves the way for how the drama/horror genre innovates in the next 10 years. If horror filmmakers approach the genre to how the film unfolds, we might see more thought-provoking material which could be something new. The film asks you to get engaged in the story.
Lenny Abrahamson is set to direct the upcoming tv series Conversation with Friends (2022) with Joe Alwyn centered on the relationship that an Ireland duo has with a married couple. Maybe, there will be no scares this time around.
It appears that grief is the shining light for making the scares matter.
Let me know your thoughts.
Author Bio
Sam is a content writer. He loves all elements connected with film and writes with passion, always. You can find him on Linkedin, where you will be able to read more articles. When he is not writing, you can find him practicing football
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