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Silent Retreat makes an effort to combine two different subgenres, and while some things are achieved, others are not. Tricia Lee has done a great job making a very atmospheric film which, as a psychological horror film early on, works better with more emphasis on the silence than eventually becomes an attention grabber when a noise is made.
Silent Retreat tells us the story of Janey Andrews (Chelsea Jenish), who is a disturbed young woman sent to a meditation retreat which is located deep inside a forest for rehabilitation. She soon learns that the Doctor (Robert Nolan) running the retreat is after more than just her voice and that if Janey doesn’t abide by his rules, she will learn the terrible secret that exists beyond the trees, and who knows what happens to people who don’t accept the silence but that is just the skeleton of the story, there is clearly more to it than that.
Almost everyone’s acting, particularly the two leads, is impressive in Silent Retreat. As the austere and terrifying Doctor, Robert Nolan is stunning and gets the most attention. His voice brings forth the gravity that is needed. With a voice like that, everything he says resonates, and his body language compliments it perfectly. Chelsea Jenish also does fairly well as the main character, Janey. Like most people, she is deeply flawed and because of the way she is portrayed by Jenish, it is easy to picture Janey as someone you would meet in real life.
Tricia Lee is careful but creative with the way she points her camera and the position she chooses to shoot from. Lee knows how to build up the tension, so while she is able to capture a few shots that look like voyeurism, she can also switch over to a more intimate and closer shot when it is necessary. By covering some obvious budgetary issues with creative angles, she is super resourceful. Lee has a clear gift in direction and his next project will be interesting.
The storytelling in Silent Retreat varies significantly, with many spectacular scenes balanced by some rather insipid expository and backstory scenes. However, the world of Silent Retreat is very well written and constructed as Corey Brown has made the effort to make the silly elements blend in. Knowing how this mismatch has different predilections as it appears to me was the polite decision to make regarding the audience’s tolerance of the action on the screen.
To my surprise, the effects that were clearly hobbled due to the limited resources available in the graphics department were far better than expected. Particularly when there is so much blood and other effects in the frantic 3rd act of the film, all of it is quite well edited, which is certainly a lesson on being frugal while still doing a quality job.
The desire to combine both types of horror is certainly present in Silent Retreat, and while the attempt is admirable, the execution is not as cohesive. Each style has its great moments, but in the end, it would be more effective if the film was simply one of the two. And here I might add that Silent Retreat is not a bad film which it certainly is not. The film is visually striking and the performance is solid but these problems do restrain it quite a lot, nevertheless it is a film worth watching.
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