Ég Man Þig (I Remember You)
Modern-day audiences seem to have developed a taste for fear in more recent years as horror flicks make a significant stab in the box office. Films such as The Conjuring and the incessant Insidious franchise are sending scare-seeking spectators in their droves down to their local multiplex. But what is it that makes these films so popular?
Icelandic director Óskar Thór Axelsson’s second feature I Remember You (Ég Man Pig) is a brave attempt at revitalising a clichéd genre, but to no avail. Set in the remote Westfjords of Iceland, the suicide of an old woman sparks a series of supernatural events, which are unknowingly linked by one entity. This triggers a police investigation on which clinical psychiatrist and grieving father Freyr (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) assists.
Despite an interesting premise, the movie incorporates every hackneyed horror trope we have seen before: haunted children, slamming doors and eerie spirits skulking in the background. Yet to the film’s credit it does not rely on cheap scares to put a chill down the spine, with the true horror being embedded in the backstory. Unfortunately, the impact is lost through a severe lack of character development and a drawn-out script, resulting in confusion and a lingering sense of dullness.
However, Jakob Ingimundarson’s cinematography is something to be admired as the mysterious, misty shots of stunning Nordic landscapes evoke a feeling of dread and trepidation. Amidst the dense fog, Ingimundarson creates bone-chilling sensations before we even lay eyes on the spirit that haunts the moors.
With a beautifully shot, ethereal setting and impressive atmospherics, the set up for I Remember You ticks all the right boxes for an arthouse horror flick, it is just a shame the storyline doesn’t follow suit.
Chloe Sizer
Ég Man Þig (I Remember You) is released in selected cinemas on 20th October 2017.
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