As with other genres, the genre of horror can have many layers, such as a horror film about a killer demonic clown as opposed to a group of people in a remote house dealing with each others extreme issues and insecurities. I believe that the scariest horror film is one that deals with a scary story as opposed to dealing with horrific creatures hence the next film which is a horror suspense thriller titled "mother!".
A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil and peaceful existence.
A couple, Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) and Him (Javier Bardem) are in the process of renovating a beautiful Victorian home in a rural area mostly so Him can have quiet so he can get his inspiration back from being a world renown writer. All of a sudden, an uninvited couple, Man (Ed Harris) and Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) arrive and as their quirky personalities come forth during conversing with Mother and Him, Man and Woman's two sons, Younger Brother (Brian Gleeson) and Oldest Son (Domhnall Gleeson) arrive upset to find out that their father, Man has changed his will. Since Man is dying of cancer, the two are rather distraught about it. As things go from bad to worse, the experience troubles Mother, and Him seems troubled but taking the turmoil much easier than Mother. Needless to say, things even get worse as Mother witnesses her house becoming a war zone with no way out.
Others to round out the cast are Jovan Adepo as Cupbearer, Amanda Chiu as Damsel, Stephen McHattie as Zealot and Kirsten Wiig as Herald.
This was directed by the very eclectic and consummate Darren Aronovsky ("Pi" '98, "Requiem for a Dream" 2000, "The Fountain" '06, "The Wrestler" '08, "Black Swan" '10, "Noah" '14). Between the incredible talent of Lawrence and the multi-layered emotions that this filmmaker was able to extract out of Lawrence was astounding. This was conveyed through Mother's perspective of all that was going on before her eyes, and the way that Aronovsky shot this seemed that she was the only sane individual in the house even though she was falling apart in the process. It was equally well written by Aronovsky (The above list and "Below" '02, "The Wrestler" '08) plus shorts. One thing can be said for Aronovsky is that his ability for originality. In this day and age of franchises, sequels, prequels and reboots, this gives the audience that much needed something new to sink their teeth into. Hey, who's kidding who, this definitely puts the 'W' in weird. It's beautifully crafted however it's a disaster story wise. This film starts tranquil and, slowly but surely, spirals into a frenetic, confusing, scary storyline. It had a couple of slow places in script, but was cleverly written and directed. What is intriguing is that no one has a name, but rather they are cast what they do. Even though the film was centered around the Mother character, Jennifer Lawrence's performance was absolutely stunning-- possibly could see a nod come Oscar time.
This is not for the mass audience appeal, as with most of Aronovsky's work, but if you love studying film: directing, writing, acting, even the intriguing sound design by Craig Henighan, this film fits the bill. This is a film about love, devotion and sacrifice and all these are played out as Lawrence is engulfed in all that is going on. Go see this if you dare!
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: R 121mins.
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