The Other Lamb (2019)

The Other Lamb: Directed by Malgorzata Szumowska. With Raffey Cassidy, Michiel Huisman, Denise Gough, Ailbhe Cowley. A girl born into an all-female cult led by a man in their compound begins to question his teachings and her own reality.

“Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska, together with writer C.S. McMuller, presents a visually stunning, excellently performed, unsubtle and ideologically rich look at the cult/messiah phenomena, gendered power, narcissism and emotional imprisonment. Itu0026#39;s a smart slow-burner with a touch too slight on some of the presented themes u0026amp; threatens to be styleu0026gt;substance throughout, but itu0026#39;s a journey worth taking.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;The Other Lambu0026quot; is a revenge/female empowerment fable, a story about a Shepherd and his flock, or, in other words, a self-proclaimed narcissistic Messiah (played by Michiel Huisman) whou0026#39;s been devoting his life to creating a cult where he can be the only man, with multiple wives and daughters. The movie puts us in the mind of Selah (portrayed compellingly by Raffey Cassidy) as we go through her journey from being an utter devotee to the cultu0026#39;s u0026#39;causeu0026#39; to the inevitable table-turn and revenge. Szumowskau0026#39;s direction and Cassidyu0026#39;s powerful and relatable performance grants a success at putting the viewer where it wishes to. u0026quot;The Other Lambu0026quot;, as compared to other movies about cults, doesnu0026#39;t explore the evil, abuse or psychology behind it all on a satisfactory level, meaning we donu0026#39;t get any real closure. However, it redeems some of the flaws with being visually captivating, the cinematographyu0026#39;s patient, environments are scarily beautiful, coloring is eye-pleasing, and itu0026#39;s all presented in a somewhat rare, full 1920*1080 aspect ratio. Without a doubt, a lot in u0026quot;The Other Lambu0026quot; relies on atmosphere of isolation, both physical and mental, and this shot the director does not miss. Despite the subjective substance flaws, at the end of it all u0026quot;The Other Lambu0026quot; still has a strong perspective on actual issues, showed through a prism of cult politics and gender inequality.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s no u0026quot;Midsommaru0026quot; or u0026quot;The Wicker Manu0026quot;, holds back in the department of violence and shock, but, as far as horror movies go, u0026quot;The Other Lambu0026quot; is a fairly great addition to the slow-burn, atmospheric, visually beautiful shelf of horror movies. Also, even though set in this century, it very much feels like a folk horror. My rating: 7/10.”