Eight for Silver (2021)

Eight for Silver (2021). Eight for Silver: Directed by Sean Ellis. With Boyd Holbrook, Kelly Reilly, Alistair Petrie, Roxane Duran. In rural 19th-century France, a mysterious, possibly supernatural menace threatens a small village. John McBride, a pathologist, comes to town to investigate the danger – and exorcise some of his own demons in the process.

“A murderous landlord draws down a gypsy curse on his nearest and dearest, and only the intervention of a veteran werewolf-hunter can save the day.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe trigger event for this story comes in a brilliant set-piece, with a static camera simply overlooking a group of horsemen storming an encampment. My eye kept getting drawn here and there in an action sequence that looked completely natural but must have been choreographed with precision. The camera-work and design is superb throughout, making great play of a misty, autumnal landscape, and the editing keeps cutting forward through intelligently shortened scenes. The music is cello, violin, piano, with rumbling drums – ominous and haunting.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere is some pretty chunky gore from real effects, and then an impressive mix of real and CGI in an autopsy, so the bloodhounds in the audience will be happy. Otherwise, the style is of grim realism but doesnu0026#39;t offer much more than the Hammer mode of u0026#39;60s gothic: a nasty lord, his cowed villagers, a curse, a predator in the shadows, and hints of romantic salvation from the square-jawed hero.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe prologue links up with WWI, but then weu0026#39;re taken back in time to a place I found hard to locate – especially the talk (none in French accents) of u0026#39;the settlement,u0026#39; which suggests colonialism, and various details of Anglo-Irish influence, when landlords literally had to fortify their mansions against their own tenantry. The disconnect isnu0026#39;t improved by the fact the enforcers who appear early on have no part to play in the development of the plot.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe performances are good, but the characterisation ainu0026#39;t that elaborate, which means the lead actress is underused until the climax, when her thinly drawn character is called upon to bear whatever symbolism and meaning the story hopes to convey. The effort to go beyond Hammer lies in the reference to Judasu0026#39;s thirty pieces of silver, which brings on the theme of betrayal. In the climax this is actually converted into action, but itu0026#39;s quite abrupt, and confusing when overlaid on a theme of sacrifice – I didnu0026#39;t come away satisfied, but canu0026#39;t say more without spoilers.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI think Iu0026#39;d have preferred if the prologue and epilogue were ditched, with emphasis redirected on to the motheru0026#39;s difficulty in maintaining her integrity while being complicit in the fateful murders. Maybe that way the climax could have been made more coherent.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall: High style, middling effect.”