An unbearably boring relationship is rocked by unfathomable domestic terrors in Significant Other, the latest horror film from filmmakers Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Villains, Body). The film starts out relatively straightforward, with humdrum heterosexual couple Ruth and Harry embarking on what appears to be an ill-fated hiking trip through the Pacific Northwest. However, as it progresses, Significant Other gradually splits into several sub-genres, creating an overarching amalgamation of horror nods and references that never becomes mere pastiche. Berk and Olsen take a great turn by openly praising far flung influences without overloading their film with incessant references. But they fall short of their initial ambition and the film feels frustratingly restricted.
It's not long before things take a spooky turn: Ruth begins to hear disconcerting sounds in the dead of night, and Harry is disturbed by his girlfriend's compulsion to investigate. On several occasions, Harry wakes up in the wee hours of the morning to find himself all alone in an empty shop. He eventually locates Ruth on the fringes of her camp, staring into the black abyss of the forest with overwhelming fear and curiosity. It's unclear if Ruth is under the influence of a sinister force or if she's discovering something much more horrible about her longtime boyfriend. What is evident, however, is that this relationship will not emerge unscathed from the green forest, if the couple manages to survive.
Significant Other spends a lot of time sowing the seeds of doubt between the two members of the pair (most of the scares in the first act simply involve the pair sneaking up on each other), yet the film says nothing particularly interesting about the commitment or expectations of two people in a long-term relationship. Ruth shuts down emotionally when Harry randomly proposes to her, but there is no deeper investigation into why so many women are increasingly rejecting this cultural norm. Sure, the terrifying things that happen to the couple can be read as manifestations of these anxieties (fear of becoming unrecognizable, of being eaten, of being betrayed), but there's certainly a missed opportunity to comment on the crumbling state of the idyllic. heterosexuality. Unions Instead, the filmmakers opt for stale "mental health as horror," culminating in an ending that's far more interested in the physical sense of anxiety than the social influences behind it.
Ruth and Harry effectively carry the entire film, and their isolated setting allows them to truly step outside of social conventions (i.e., politeness) to explore the murkier (albeit, in this case, monotonously shallow) depths of an incredibly bland and insipid partnership. upset. The filmmakers' decision to play with the typecasting of their actors: Monroe, the final girl stubbornly harassed; Lacy, the increasingly disgusting boyfriend, actually makes it hard to connect with the characters. With Lacy's case in particular, it's impossible not to be reminded of her identical roles in Girls and High Fidelity, with certain lines of dialogue causing physical shivers from her sheer predictability. Even when Harry's personality completely changes during the journey's descent into hell, all he manages to conjure up is another of Lacy's roles: Shane, the White Lotus' scheming asshole. Ironically, the film's script may have been too perfect for Lacy's talents, ultimately leaving him unchallenged (and uninspired) in the role.
Monroe fares slightly better, if only because the film is largely true to her character's point of view. Ruth suffers from a chronic anxiety disorder; the camera physically shakes her and shoots in and out of focus each time she has an episode, imbuing the film with a personal perspective rarely offered to Lacy's character. While these POV shots of anxiety quickly wear on the novelty of her, Monroe is well versed in the art of communicating unease through her facial expressions and line deliveries alone. Especially in the wake of her scream queen status due to her starring roles in It Follows, The Guest, and Watcher, Monroe knows all too well how to convincingly convey the threat of being stalked and pursued by a terrifying entity. . It's disappointing, then, that Significant Other simply plays to the actress's well-rehearsed strengths rather than subverting this restrictive role.
Watch Significant Other 2022 Movie Trailer
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