[Review] Grimmfest Easter: Bring Out The Fear

Screened virtually at Grimmfest Easter, Bring Out The Fear is a mind-bending folk horror that will have you questioning reality alongside its protagonists. It’s the third feature film from writer and director Richard Waters and his production company Weird Pretty Pictures. Set in the forests of Ireland with a runtime of just under 80-minutes, the psychological thriller and Waters don’t waste any time stirring up fear for audiences.

“It knows what scares you…”

Rowan Moore’s jarring cinematic artistry coupled with a delicately ominous score by Steve Nolan and sound design by Dylan Burgess Grant and Ivan Jackman create an immediate unease and sense of foreboding in the opening aerial shots. I was transported from sun-kissed treetops into a dark and mist-laden wilderness audibly growling—with what I can only describe as the sounds of hunger—as a man, covered in blood, hides beneath a tree’s bare and jagged lower branches before everything starkly fades to black. I then found myself firmly tucked into a tension blanket before Rosie (Ciara Bailey) and Dan (Tad Morai) were introduced.

The couple’s dissolving relationship created a tightness in my chest. The tense atmosphere Waters sets up at the film’s onset rests uncomfortably between them. The cracks are easy to spot well before Rosie and Dan head into the woods together. Dan threatens Eric (James Delvin), a former friend that Rosie’s cheated with. Meanwhile, she’s in the car phoning a friend to pack her belongings before the couple returns home. The dissolution of their romance is inevitable with each of them intent on moving the relationship in different directions.

After Rosie rejects Dan’s proposal, the couple becomes lost in the woods. The claustrophobia and isolation of the forest are clearly an allegory for their relationship. Reality begins to bend and time stands still. The paths lead them in circles, the trees are endless and voices whisper through the trees. A dark and ominous presence stalks and torments them while their secrets, fears and doubts bubble under the surface. The barrage of paranoia and assaults on their psyches by the forest wouldn’t be nearly as effective without the terrifying sound design and Bailey’s performance. She expertly conveys contempt, irritability, fear, exhaustion, and rage with every line and gesture. Rosie is desperately trying to leave this relationship and finds herself trapped with the one person she needs to escape from.

Bring Out The Fear struck a deep emotional chord with me. It’s incredibly relatable, even if you’ve never found yourself in a toxic relationship. It reminded me of the emotional anguish of one of my own and how difficult it can be to leave a bad situation when you love and deeply care for someone. We’re often so concerned with not hurting someone’s feelings, we don’t stop to say what needs to be said and take care of ourselves. The film is genuinely scary, and I’d be surprised if you don’t think twice before the next time you venture into the woods with your significant other.

Bring Out The Fear is screening at Grimmfest Easter from Friday 15th April to April 18th. Get tickets here

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[Review] Grimmfest Easter: A Pure Place