FilmSnobReviews

Title: Attachment
MPAA Rating: Not Yet Rated
Director: Gabriel Bier Gislason
Starring: Ellie Kendrick, Sofie Gråbøl, Josephine Park
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

What It Is: A former star of a child’s show named Maja (Park) is making an appearance at a library for a reading of her book. There, she meets the adorably sweet Leah (Kendrick), a Jewish academic from London. The two immediately hit it off, spending the night together and thinking that they’ve found love. They reside with each other for a while, when Leah suffers odd symptoms that lead to her having a violent seizure and breaking her leg. Needing to visit her worrisome mother (Gråbøl) in her recuperation, Leah brings Maja along to the town where Leah’s mother lives. Maja grows more and more suspicious of the goings-on as she meets Leah’s uncle (Dencik), an easygoing bookkeeper, on happenstance, who hints that there’s more to Leah than she knows and that Leah’s mother is trying to hide.

What We Think: Coming across a great romance-horror is difficult, especially one like this where a majority of its elements are all well-done across the board. The chemistry between our leads is easy to fall into, as the actresses play their parts with intelligence and endearing awkwardness as they navigate a very new but very promising long-term relationship. I often found myself gushing about how cute and relatable they were as a couple, from their smiles, to their little jokes, to their loving gazes, to their honest conversations–the relationship is palpable, more effective than many other romantic plots I’ve seen (regardless of genre). The focus on the blooming romance makes for a strong core of this film, as despite you knowing something’s about to go very wrong, you absolutely don’t want it to in rooting for the couple. It also leaves plenty of room for some engrossing misdirection and suspicion. You don’t want to suspect anyone, including the obviously well-meaning mother and comforting uncle, but you can’t help but suspect anyone may be to blame. Once the word ‘dybbuk’ starts being thrown around, it’s pretty obvious where the film is headed, similar to others about the demon possessing innocent people (the polish film Demon 2015 is a perfect example), but you’re there for the ride nonetheless, considering how strong of a foundation the characters have built around each other.

Our Grade: B, A freshly romantic and often startling take on the possession-horror genre,Attachment gives us beautiful performances wrapped within well-rounded filmmaking. While it’s not the scariest or creepiest flick of the season, its grounded sense of reality and  characterization make the happenings feel all the more personal and weighty. I recommend giving this stylish horror a watch for the amazing writing and acting and certainly hope to see more from the cast and crew in the future. Attachment will be available to watch on Shudder.