Ghost stories by definition are usually tales of woe and terror, almost always concerned with things left undone, be it justice, vendetta, or the truest of love and reconciliation. Brett Bentman's latest film Foreclosure is an abstract inversion of the tried-and-true genre formula, subverting expected tropes in a minimalist style to create a tragic love story that is primarily concerned with embracing truths and letting go of the past. Featuring a perfectly restrained pair of performances, chilling visuals, and Bentman's trademark independent sensibilities, this is a complex story in a deceptively simple package.
A young couple moves
into a new home with a mysterious past that the neighbor believe is haunted.
As strange things begin to occur, Mary Boyne begins to suspect that her dream
house is haunted. David Wagner's script is one of the many misleading
delights within Foreclosure's near purgatory-like presentation.
Essentially a chamber piece, almost everything happens within the central
house, but the way the characters interact is what enhances the isolationist
feel that Bentman evokes in virtually every frame. Much like other horror
films, it is apparent that something is wrong almost from the inception,
however here, The Boynes are searching for answers, searching for their own private
ghost as a means to obfuscate what is truly haunting them.
Samara Gonzalez giving a heartbreaking performance as Mary. Initially her
chemistry with Derrick Redford's Ned is stilted, bordering on awkward, however,
as the story slowly begins to reveal itself, it becomes shockingly apparent
why, a true credit to these talented performers and Bentman’s attention to
detail. Scott Ross's cinematography captures the happenings in a slice of
life presentation, where the monotony of everyday life is presented through a
series of wide shots and close angles. Everything is presented in a dreamlike
haze, reminiscent of the various ghost stories that inspired it.
The difference is in a shocking climax and a refreshingly mature
resolution to the various mysteries presented therein, all without a single
drop of blood being spilled.
Coming soon to digital on demand, Foreclosure is a compact thriller that rewards a patient viewer with a series of interesting ideas and an uncomfortable aura of dread that never relents. A pair of gripping performances melds with Bentman's pristine direction and the yield is a lowkey day dream with notes of heartbreak and hopefulness. If you're interested in a spooky, non-violent story during the holiday season, this is an excellent choice.
--Kyle Jonathan