[Review] Val (2021)
Val (2021) from Dread is a supernatural horror comedy directed by Aaron Fradkin and written by Fradkin and Victoria Fratz. The film stars Misha Reeves (The Willows) and Zachary Mooren (The Rookie, Criminal Minds). Val follows Fin, a criminal on the run, who takes shelter in the home of Val, a beautiful high-class escort who also is a demon.
At the start of the film, there are some problematic conversations around the fact that Val is a sex worker. Fin speaks to her with disdain and disgust, which shows that he doesn’t understand what Val does for a living. There is one scene where Val is attacked by a client in the home and there is a stark example of the misogyny and gendered violence that sex workers experience in their lives.
“whatever you are, whatever you do.”
Eventually, Val isn’t phased because she is harbouring a criminal in her home. In fact, Val befriends her abductor. The chemistry between the two is impressive as they move from funny interactions to philosophical conversations. We realise the two are protagonists with their own story arcs that are explored with purpose and humility. I really enjoyed how we learn about each of the characters through conversation and flashbacks. We learn about their hopes, dreams, and wants for the future.
Someone has compromised and manipulated Fin into being the criminal that he ended up being on the day. We see flashbacks to conversations with his girlfriend about stealing a ridiculous amount of money that would make all their dreams come true. We realise Fin is not the hardened criminal that he has made himself out to be. Someone else was pulling the strings that landed him in Val’s hands. Throughout the film, we see Fin is experiencing some sort of supernatural influence; he is hallucinating, throwing up, and is seen to be very incoherent and incapacitated. Val spends these moments gaslighting and influencing Fin into thinking that it’s the trauma that he has suffered to his head. It’s strange to see a narrative flipped like this to witness a female character taking the role of the manipulator to ensure that she gets what she wants out of this invasion situation. Over time, we see Val has something to do with what is going on with Fin.
So who is Val?
Over the course of the film, we realise that there is more to Val than meets the eye. There are moments where she reveals parts of Fin’s secrets to him, taunting him with the information she has on him. One of my favourite parts of this film is the incredible performance by Misha Reeves as Val, or better known as Valefar, a Duchess of Hell. Val is charismatic, beautiful, and intelligent as she weaves her web around Fin to keep him captive in her home. Reeves does a wonderful job of transforming from devious to sarcastic to tantalising all whilst spending her day doing what she wants to do. Taunting Fin for thinking that he controls the situation.
Towards the end, we see Val offer Fin a Faustian bargain where he can commit himself to Val and live a life that he had only dreamed of OR face the prospect of being arrested. The ending is full of fantastic practical effects that are reminiscent of The Evil Dead (1985) which were incredibly fun for me as a Raimi fan.
“You never have to be like them. The ones outside. They never had a choice”
The ending of the film is interesting and not expected at all and was a pleasant conclusion to Fin’s story arc. Val was a fun watch full of wonderful female prowess portrayed by the incredibly beautiful Misha Reeves. I really enjoyed the practical effects and how the film slowly took a turn for the worse for Fin. Both actors were engaging and I enjoyed the on-screen chemistry. Overall, Val is incredibly witty, satisfyingly grotesque, and a new introduction to demons without the demon explicitly being Satan.
