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DIRECTED BY: Valdimar Jóhannsson
FEATURING: Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson
PLOT: A childless couple living on a remote farm in Iceland become attached to a newborn lamb.
COMMENTS: Debuting director Valdimar Jóhannsson has been adamant in interviews that Lamb is not a horror movie. While that may not be strictly accurate—Lamb abuts the supernatural, relies on ominous music cues and a bit of shocking violence, and nurtures a sense of unease throughout—the lack of intent to horrify is an important consideration to get your expectations in order.
Anyone going in expecting a stately A24 horror outing a la St. Maud (2021), The Lighthouse (2019), or Hereditary (2018) will likely grow impatient in the first forty-five minutes as the movie languorously spends its time following the slow rhythms of farm life. Maria and Ingvar, all alone except for a dog, a cat, and their livestock, spend long days grazing their sheep, preparing and eating meals (including lamb chops), and servicing their temperamental tractor. The only event that breaks up the idyllic monotony is the unexpected birth of a new lamb. After pulling the babe out of its mother, Maria gets that motherly look in her eyes. The couple take the lamb inside their home and care for the newborn like a favored pet, lavishing as much affection and attention on it as they would on an infant. The cute-as-a-button critter is usually lovingly wrapped in swaddling clothes, and it’s only when we get a brief glimpse of its lower extremities that anything resembling horror starts to take root.
Things perk up a bit after the overly-long introduction, helped by the arrival of Ingvar’s ne’er-do-well brother, who crashes at the farm and, like the audience, looks askance at the couple’s unnatural attachment to the animal. Things still proceed relatively slowly, but the viewer’s interest is held by dreamy visuals of the verdant Icelandic valley and the strangely expressive lamb (formed from a variety of techniques, including CGI composting and puppetry, into an aberration that’s simultaneously ridiculous and uncanny). The narrative is thin, but the metaphorical implications are broad; the story is driven by a likable couple’s need for something to love. (Coincidentally, displaced and delusional parental love is also a key feature of the recent Titane). It falls just short of earning a general “recommended” tag, but for those who enjoy slow but offbeat art-house movies that focus as much on gorgeous scenery as horrific visions, Lamb may serve to fill an empty space inside of you.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:
Ah yes, aesthetic horror. Proper genre ingredient ratio seems key to the success of these A24 hybrids. Will peep.
I’m not an A24 fan, but this new Icelandic film is better than than the self-indulgent LIghthouse or the overrated Heredity.
If anyone thinks the first 45 minutes are “slow,” they haven’t seen Bergman or Tarkovsky, both of which have entries here. Not saying it was great, but it was a good, creepy film.
Pretty sure the author is familiar with those, bro. The directors you mentioned are also extremely old. It’s like comparing FW Murnau to John Carpenter.