A decade after her sophomore feature The Love Witch, Anna Biller has returned from a whole other era with another technicolor fever dream of female rage.
In The Face of Horror, the writer/director updates the Kabuki ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan, which she deconstructs for the medieval era with help from stars Kristine Frøseth, Jonah Hauer-King, Ellie Bamber and Bella Heathcote.
The film begins with the knight Edward (Hauer-King) asking Eleanor’s (Frøseth) father for her hand in marriage, which the patriarch rejects over the suitor’s scoundrel, thieving ways. Unable to take “no” for an answer, Edward kills Eleanor’s father, before deceitfully promising her to exact vengeance on his killer and convincing her to marry him so that he can protect her.
As months go by, Edward has grown disgusted with a postpartum Eleanor, instead courting the recently widowed noblewoman Isabel (Heathcote), who devises a plot to kill Eleanor so they can be together. With Edward’s conscience and Eleanor’s livelihood hanging in the balance, the film culminates in a bloody final act filled with ghostly horror and vengeance.
Watch on Deadline
Kristine presents a perfectly subdued performance as the sweet, naive Eleanor, desperate for the love of her own husband, so much so that she’s prepared to go through great lengths to fit his vision of beauty.
As Edward, Hauer-King is a villainous medieval fuckboy with little redeeming qualities. But plagued by the threat of eternal damnation, the actor delivers a tortured portrayal of the weak knight as he struggles to outrun his toxic nature and be redeemed after being haunted for his actions drives him to the point of madness.
Bamber gives a surprise breakout performance as Eleanor’s strong-willed sister Beatrice, whose love for her sister leads to a quest for vengeance that will have audiences cheering, as well as crying.
The final product should be worth the decade-long wait for Biller fans, as she weaves a stunning cinematic ode to Hollywood’s technicolor era and the tragic beauty of the original Kabuki tale, featuring an emotionally volatile narrative with strong operatic performances from its cast that walk the line between camp and Shakespearean drama.
With The Face of Horror, Biller has provided another fix for cinephiles craving some good old-fashioned filmmaking with a contemporary feminist heartbeat.
Title: The Face of Horror
Festival: TIFF
Section: Midnight Madness
Director-screenwriter: Anna Biller
Cast: Jonah Hauer-King, Kristine Frøseth, Ellie Bamber, Leo Suter, Ben Radcliffe, Bella Heathcote
Sales agent: Embankment Films
Running time: 2 hrs
