Who knew the art world could be this dangerous? Expensive? – absolutely. Elitist? Sure. But actively harmful? A Wounded Fawn (2022) opens on a prestigious auction, where a rare Greek bronze is being sold via an array of buyers primed to get the sale and get their commission. This frenetic, competitive environment prepares us for what will follow, and also introduces us to bidder Bruce (Josh Ruben), who tracks down the successful bidder, Kate (Malin Barr) and – allegedly acting on behalf of his clients – makes her another, lucrative offer she apparently can’t refuse. Kate looks to be a successful, clever young woman, but Bruce’s offer (and charm) sway her from her initial, completely appropriate defensiveness about strangers breaking professional and personal boundaries by rocking up at her door. Just consider how many films start this way, with a woman who has clearly made a success of her life, but loses it because she chooses to accommodate some random man’s feelings.
Well, we soon know what sort of a man Bruce is. This sets us up to expect the worst, particularly when we meet Meredith (Sarah Lind), another woman who owes her career to the art world, and who first appears on screen talking with a counsellor, discussing her personal progress away from a tough, abusive relationship. But she feels ready to date again (oh my god) and she’s heading away for the weekend, with a handsome fella she’s just met. We’ve just met him, too.
Here we go then, with two damaged individuals, heading to the horror-familiar territory of a remote cabin in the woods – albeit they don’t usually have as much natural light, expensive furnishings and objets d’art as this one, including that expensive, rare bronze of the Furies. Meredith is very surprised to see it sitting on the coffee table, given her museum had recently helped to establish its provenance, though Bruce insists that it’s just a good copy. It’s not the only strange thing about this place: soon, the usually level-headed Meredith begins to see and hear things, including seeing a woman, striding past one of the windows. Bruce insists that nothing of that nature has ever troubled him, and her questions trigger an angry response from him; whatever was going to happen here, it simply seems to be triggered early by Meredith’s behaviour. A brutal game of cat and mouse begins, flipping first in favour of one, and then another of our main characters – but it seems that Bruce’s behaviour as a killer and a thief has triggered something which seems to emanate from one of his most recent steals.
Above all else, A Wounded Fawn is a queasy watch (its title is reminiscent of The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and it coincidentally shares some of the same kinds of queasiness). It always seems to be threatening more discomfort, and its own particular supernatural content affords the layering of surreal and nightmarish content, allowing the film to experiment throughout. In terms of aesthetics, the film’s colourisation and grain recalls a lot of late 80s and early 90s VHS-era horror, whilst the use of uncomfortably close shots lend the film a claustrophobia and paranoia which cements its unreal, uneasy progression. There are some subtler visual clues in there to enjoy, too; we see those red flags.
There are also issues, however: that almighty flip from what at first seems to be a largely realistic narrative to a largely surreal one can feel repetitive in places, as well as submerging the original, very promising character study almost totally: this then all needs to be wrapped up rather abruptly, which results in the sense of two films struggling to come together as one. Inevitably, this will be divisive, and as much as A Wounded Fawn finds a hitherto-underused seam of mythology to explore, it does attempt a to do a lot with it which doesn’t always land, or throws in symbolism which becomes less clear. The film will perhaps appeal most to lovers of late-80s Eurohorror, and fans of Soavi in particular – and not just for the most obvious reason, either. Those who enjoy increasing doses of eccentric, surreal horror which adds a dash of absurd humour will be amply rewarded. For everyone else, the film’s highly experimental nature may be a challenge at times, but to its credit, a good share of that approach does pay off, and it does disrupt a fair few expectations.
A Wounded Fawn will screen as part of this year’s Frightfest. For more details, please click here.