Lore
Directed by James Bushe, Patrick Michael Ryder and Greig Johnson
Written by Patrick Michael Ryder, Christine Barber-Ryder and James Bushe
Starring: Richard Brake, Andrew Lee Potts, Bill Fellows, Rufus Hound
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour 28 minutes
Premiering exclusively on the Icon Film Channel August 26, Theatrical release September 27, on demand October 21

By Jill Vranken, Staff Writer

There is a custom that we carry out on every tour…

As someone who loves the art of storytelling, especially how it’s utilized in horror films, Lore seemed like catnip to me. Consisting of four stories, told around a campfire by a quartet of adventure-seekers who have signed up for a spooky excursion in the hills of Scotland, Lore certainly looks the part. Even with a smaller budget than most big folk horror movies, cinematographer Scott Coulter (known for his work on British TV comedies such as Henpocalypse!, Things You Should Have Done and Man Like Mobeen) makes the deserted Scottish woods look suitably creepy.

Dan (Miles Mitchell), Mark (Dean Bone), Donna (Sally Collett), and Sally (Samantha Neale) arrive at their designated location, mildly unnerved to find that they are alone. It’s clear from the off that the quartet are both very much into horror and also consider themselves harder to impress as they banter amongst each other about doing escape rooms and Secret Cinema events. Even when they are eventually met by their host, Darwin (Richard Brake), and told that the rest of the attendees have canceled, they remain in high spirits, perhaps a bit smugly so.

Brake is the absolute MVP of this movie; a genre veteran and favorite of Rob Zombie, his measured yet menacing tones provide the coda to each of the segments. As night falls, he gathers the campers around a fire and asks them each to share a story that scares them, with him and with the spirits in the forest. One by one, the campers chip in.

The first story, “Shadows,” is the weakest of the bunch. On the run from two heavies (Daniel-John Williams and Steven Blades), a small-time criminal named Daniel (Andrew Lee Potts) hides in a seemingly abandoned warehouse. Daniel soon discovers that he is not alone in the warehouse, and that he may be in more danger than he thought. The acting in this segment doesn’t quite hit the mark, and while the unexpected ending somewhat redeems it, it is eclipsed by the three segments that follow it.

“The Hidden Woman” is a classic ghost story compressed into twenty solid minutes. Hannah (Jennifer K Preston) and her son Charlie (Theo Preston) move into the home of her late mother. Hannah begins seeing a ghostly presence around the house, and quickly realizes that something may be haunting these walls. The ballerina ghost is a memorable one, with contortionist Jordaine Lincoln providing her terrifying, blocky movements and giving the segment some effective jump scares.

“Cross Your Heart” marries folk horror with horror comedy, casting comedian Rufus Hound (Beautiful Devils, The Wedding Video) as Steve, a horrendously sleazy, toxic man who has convinced his wife Cath (Katie Sheridan) to hook up with a pair of swingers for their anniversary. Very satisfyingly, the tables turn on Steve pretty quickly, in ways he could have never imagined. This third segment was easily my favorite: even though every segment is a maximum of twenty minutes long, “Cross Your Heart” manages to build up to an honest catharsis and actually gives that catharsis to you without making you feel cheated.

The fourth and final story, “The Keychain Man,” is the one I could happily watch an entire ninety minutes of. A slasher set in the confines of a movie theater hosting a midnight premiere, it sees a cinema employee named Gareth (Finbar Healy) get fired while on duty. Gareth pretty much instantly goes sicko mode, grabbing a mask from the concession stand (no idea, just go with it) and going on a killing spree. “The Keychain Man” has some deliciously creative kills (including a death by popcorn scoop!) and ends the campfire stories on a high note.

Unfortunately, the wraparound story doesn’t quite help the film stick the landing. And for a film which is a story about storytelling, the quality of said stories could be better. Still, Lore has a number of good things going for it - most importantly, it is impressive what the filmmakers achieved with their budget, showing that you don’t need masses of studio money to bring good scares to the screen.