Another micro-budgeted Aussie film to premiere at MIFF this year is the psychological horror film “Of Womb” from first time director Peter Firebrace. Watching the trailer for the film on the MIFF website, I was immediately entranced by its distinct visual style and what appeared to be a more than unusual narrative. So much so that “Of Womb” became one of the films I was really looking forward to at MIFF, hoping to find a hidden gem, or at the very least, an interesting and different horror film.
“Of Womb” is a kind of throwback to the psychological thrillers of the 1970's, that relied more on atmosphere and chills, than blood and gore. The film takes us into the world of a cult, and explores how repetition, ritual and power dynamics breed obedience. What is interesting though is we are witness to all of this through the lives of three sisters, who were brought up by their tough, domineering and very religious mother who, after she dies, sees the eldest girl keep the death of their mother a secret from her sisters, in a bid to claim the title of head honcho of the family for herself. Whilst it is initially fun and games between the three girls, when the youngest starts to question some of the eldest's increasingly cruel demands, it sets the sister's path towards doom.
As was indicated by the trailer for “Of Womb”, this is a stunning looking film with incredibly beautiful cinematography and particularly, production design. The house the girls live in is filled with dried flowers, lace curtains, mirrors and old vintage furniture, and the clothes they wear are often long, soft garments of light colours. With the beautiful soft lighting cinematographer Joe Henderson uses, “Of Womb” has a similar visual quality to Peter Weir's “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1975) (which I consider the greatest Australian film ever made), and Sofia Coppola's “The Virgin Suicides” (1999). It ticks all the boxes, from a visual standpoint, of what I love in a film. I also have to mention the paperbark forest that exists just outside the property the girls live on and where they often engage in fun together. I honestly can not remember seeing anything like these trees before, and seeing them all together with the girls gleefully running between them, well it is a stunning image.
Director Peter Firebrace does an excellent job of creating an uneasy atmosphere which is done via the sound design and unconventional music of the film (which Firebrace himself composed). The weird songs/prayers/sacraments the girls perform daily also help with the atmosphere of “Of Womb”, as well as hint at the darkness hidden just underneath the surface. As mother is dead when we first meet her, we cannot truly know how strict or demonstrative she was towards her girls and their religious upbringing and thus cannot tell for sure if it is because of this upbringing that Eldest becomes so cruel, or if she is just evil inside. It is the age old debate of Nature vs Nurture. Initially, Eldest tells Middle and Youngest, that Mother is sick and must be left alone, as the Devil is behind her door ready to tempt them, and that she alone has been put in charge after being chosen by Mother. Her obedient sisters do not question any of this and continue life as normal, but now with Eldest in charge. It is not until Eldest is questioned and she feels her new found power threatened, that she begins giving her sisters increasingly mean and cruel “tests”, while pretending they are from Mother. What I found interesting about all of this is that the girls never questioned anything Mother told them, believing in it fully, and yet it is obvious when Eldest takes over, that she is making it up as she goes along, which should surely break the illusion of the cult and everything they previously believed in, so why do Middle and Youngest continue to follow Eldest's lead? At the very least, Eldest herself should understand the fraudulent nature of the cult, as she comes up with new trials, and sacraments on the fly, usually to the betterment of herself, but it surprises me that she does not start questioning everything that came before it when Mother was alive. As always, the person holding the power claims that everything they are doing is in the best interests of her sisters, but if they really stopped and thought about what was going on, they would see the opposite was true. As the film gets towards its end, Eldest comes up with some horrific “trials” and worse punishments, and this is where the horror of “Of Womb” comes from.
As I have mentioned already, I adore everything about “Of Womb” when it comes to a visual sense, and I also marvel at its sustained disturbing and unusual atmosphere created throughout. Where the film falls down is in the actual story, as I do not think there is enough story to sustain its entire running time. To fill out the time, Firebrace continually repeats the girls actions day after day, which is fine to give a sense of daily repetition and ritual, but it ends up becoming stale from a narrative point of view if nothing else is happening in between. Films like these, where not a lot happens but are very atmospheric, need to end on a great finale, essentially to reward the audience for their patience. I think the ending for “Of Womb” is good, do not get me wrong, it is just not the banger you want it to be. I am not sure what exactly, but it just needed something a little extra to knock the ending out of the park.
The three girls, Caillin Thompson, Ella Demarchi and Bailey Perrie, who play Eldest, Middle and Youngest respectively are all quite good in their roles and have a wonderful chemistry together, making it believable that they are sisters who grew up isolated from the rest of the world, but it is Thompson who steals the movie as the power hungry Eldest. Her natural beauty makes her look ethereal and heavenly, but the darkness behind her eyes expose the opposite. The way Thompson leans in and embraces this darkness, particularly towards the end is especially chilling. I also thought Perrie's wide-eyed performance as Youngest was also very impressive, as she is the most curious of the three girls. The one who is willing to discover the world for herself, rather than be told what is what and question things she doesn't fully understand, to the detriment of herself and her sister's well being.
Overall, “Of Womb” is an incredibly well made Aussie psychological horror film, shot on a tiny budget, but what little they had in money, they made up for with creativity. It is a stunningly beautiful film, with a chilling atmosphere, but does come up a little short in its story. It is definitely an interesting film, and well worth watching, and I think fans of 70's horror, in particular, should get a lot out of “Of Womb”.
3 Stars.
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