Four thrill-seeking friends book a horror-themed camping excursion led by Darwin (Richard Brake), a strange and mysterious guide. Seated around a campfire at the site of a mass grave, the friends are encouraged by Darwin to tell the scariest stories they know. As the night rolls on, the stories begin to flow and four very different, but equally sinister, tales are shared among the group.
‘Lore’ is part of the new wave of horror films that weave together shorts with an overarching narrative to offer an anthology-like experience for the viewer. The plus side of these kind of films is that if you don’t like one of the shorts, you don’t have to wait too long before the next one begins and usually there’s something for everyone. In ‘Lore’ the narrative is the four friends telling stories with a creepy camping guide, and the shorts are a mix of comedy and straight-up horror.
The first of the four sees a man being pursued by a demon that seemingly only he can see. Caught up in a criminal underworld, he tries to escape with his life after becoming trapped in a warehouse with the demon stalking him, and the people who are chasing him for a debt that he owes. Second short, ‘The Hidden Woman’, offers a stark contrast as it tells the story of a woman and her young son who come up against a malevolent force in the house of a late relative.
In third short ‘Cross Your Heart’, a married man sets up a swingers party and gets a lot more than he bargained for when the people involved turn out to not be who he thought they were. This one stars comedian Rufus Hound and is definitely more on the comical side of the shorts gathered here. The final short is ‘The Key Chain Man’, which sees a trio of friends caught up in the sadistic massacre of a cinema employee who goes on a rampage during their night at the flicks. This was my favourite of the four and leaned into the slasher genre impressively.
Outside of the four shorts, the main narrative proved to be the least interesting part of the film. While it provides a good device for the four stories to be told, I wasn’t convinced it hung together all that well by the end. The film would have been just as effective without it I think, even though the cast does a decent job.
Whether or not you enjoy ‘Lore’ will very much depend on how much you enjoy short films strung together as a feature. For me, I found the film entertaining on the whole but I would definitely say two of the shorts were a lot stronger than the others. Unevenness is expected with this kind of film and the film-makers have obviously poured their heart and soul, and love of horror, into the project.
Cast: Richard Brake, Bill Fellows, Andrew Lee Potts, Katie Sheridan, Rufus Hound, Steven Blades Directors: James Bushe, Patrick Michael Ryder & Greig Johnson Writers: Patrick Michael Ryder, Christine Barber-Ryder & James Bushe Certificate: 15 Duration: 92 mins Released by: Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment Release date: 26th August 2024 Buy ‘Lore’ now
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‘Lore' will be available to stream exclusively on the IFC Channel from 26th August, in Select UK Cinemas from 27th September and then available on Home Entertainment from 21th October
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