Invited on a second date with the handsome Bruce (Josh Ruben) to his secluded cabin, Meredith (Sarah Lind) is ready for a weekend she won’t forget. Bruce, however, is fuelled by a dark need, and Meredith will have to fight for her survival. Travis Stevens, director of the previous Shudder hit Jakob’s Wife, brings you a tale which may seem familiar on the outside, but leads you down a path of horrific violence and even more disturbing imagery in Frightfest hit, A Wounded Dawn.
We are introduced to Bruce (Ruben) at an art auction, bidding against Kate (Malin Barr) for a rare piece, The Wrath of Erinyes. Outbid by Kate, Bruce arrives at her house, claiming that his client is willing to double the price paid, making an instant return on Kate’s investment. This all seems too good to be true, and it is. After inviting Bruce in for a drink, he brandishes an almost Freddie Kruger-like device and rips out the throat of Kate, leaving her in a pool of blood. Unbeknownst to Bruce, this is his first mistake on the way to a confrontation with the Roman goddesses of vengeance, The Furies.
While A Wounded Fawn may not be for everyone, the subversion of tropes and stunning visuals make this a movie that should at least be given a try.
Cut to Meredith (Lind), who is with friends at an art gallery, and has just come out of an abusive relationship. She has a date with a “mystery man” to try and get back on the horse, and guess who that is? That’s right, Bruce again. On the journey to his cabin, Bruce and Meredith are learning all about each other, with the chemistry between Lind and Ruben palpable. Once at the cabin, things start taking a turn for the worse. Kate’s reflection appears in a window, doors open by themselves, and someone sets off the outdoor light. All regular spooky cabin tropes, but carried out effectively. As Meredith becomes more unnerved, Bruce becomes more agitated, and he is visited by his owl demon, meaning now is the time to kill Meredith. Cue more bloodshed, and an apparently dead Meredith on the floor, mirroring Kate. However, Meredith has not succumbed, and attacks Bruce with The Wrath Of Erinyes, cracking his skull and destroying his eye. From here, things go full-on surrealist, and the tropes played before are abandoned for startling, sometimes terrifying imagery.
This second act is where the movie could potentially lose some people, as the plot is negated in favour of the artistry. A haunting chase in the woods pits Bruce against the Furies, he faces off against a fireplace-turned-serpent, and his demon is revealed to him in a surreal standoff. All expertly handled by Stevens, and performed admirably by Ruben, supported by a fantastic score from VAAAL which adds to the dreamlike, paranoid quality of Bruce’s mental break.
This is the conclusion to one of the oddest opening director “trilogies” of recent times, this joins Jacob’s Wife and (the) Girl on the Third Floor as an incredible, bold statement of intent. While A Wounded Fawn may not be for everyone, the subversion of tropes and stunning visuals make this a movie that should at least be given a try. Even if it is steeped in metaphor, and Roman myth which some may find intimidating, the ideas and visuals alone are worth the price of admission. Add to that the performances from Ruben and Lind, and we have a shudder exclusive that is one of the most original and distinct horrors of the year that is certain to get genre fans talking.
A WOUNDED FAWN IS OUT TOMORROW, EXCLUSIVELY ON SHUDDER
