An Taibhse (The Ghost)
Apparently the first horror film in the Irish language – though I’m always wary of definitive statements with so much filmmaking activity going on, so don’t be surprised if a precedent turns up somewhere. It’s at once an archetypal old dark house story – it’s not the only FF film this year to be heavily under the shadow of The Shining and/or The Turn of the Screw – and a particularly Irish tale. After the death of an idealised mother and hinted-at other dark family issues in Belfast, Éamon (Tom Kerrisk) and his daughter Máire (Livvy Hill) arrive by horse and buggy at a vast, uninhabited mansion. Éamon has been entrusted by the absentee Fitzwilliam family with maintenance and repairs, presumably so they can reoccupy the pile – though for an hour or so, we get a sense that the return of the Fitzwilliams is as likely as the arrival of Godot.
Éamon and Máire toil at oddly futile tasks … there’s obviously a huge amount of work to be done on the house (Coollattin House, County Wicklow – uninhabited for 25 years, but with a few light fittings and bathroom fixtures blurring the issue of when precisely this film is set), but for the most part Éamon chops wood and Máire cleans windows, until Éamon chops into his foot and has to rest up, putting the strain of physical labour on the frail Máire, who is also repeatedly sent down to the cellar to fetch drink. Máire has been persecuted by a ghost she calls Alexander and hopes this new place means she’s away from him, but soon he’s back – manifesting in ghost story creepiness like a stray Mr Punch puppet, a scary cupboard, unexplained scratches and bruises, and flash-visions of surreal or disturbing images (a field of crosses, fires, a gap in a bookshelf, blood in the bath-tub).
Mixed in with The Shining (well-intentioned third act visitor meets Bad Dad with an Axe) are elements from another key horror text which don’t become apparent until the hallucinatory finale, though the plot turns are heavily foreshadowed and set up by the excellent, nuanced lead performances. It’s a striking, broad strokes film – getting a lot of mileage out of brutal weather, unpapered walls, candlelight and folks glowering at each other in huge cold rooms. Written and directed by John Farrelly (The Sleep Experiment).
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