Horror Cinema is not the same as social realism. It deals generally with the unreal, the fantastic; more often than not it eschews naturalism in favour of a more heightened, stylised approach. This does not, however, mean that Horror Cinema lacks socio-political awareness; that it does not often confront serious issue in a serious fashion. But the key word here is "confront".
I found myself thinking about this fact as I read the other IMDb reactions to SPLINTERED, and in particular the objections to its allegedly "crass" treatment of the very serious issue of child abuse and its repercussions. Given the fact that SPLINTERED is first and foremost a horror film, not an issue-led social drama, I think the film's approach is entirely responsible and legitimate.
SPLINTERED takes the traditional tropes of the teens-in-peril slasher movie and filters them through the dark, Freudian fairy tales of Angela Carter, to powerful effect. It is the story of Sophie, haunted since childhood by dreams of being attacked by some bestial entity. The film begins with this recurring nightmare, then fast-forwards to the present, where Sophie is headed to the countryside to investigate news reports of a sheep-killing wild animal. With her are best friend, Jane, Jane's geeky brother Dean, Jane's boorish boyfriend Sam, and alpha male John, who clearly has designs on Sophie. The film establishes quickly and efficiently that Sophie is a troubled young woman, isolated even among her friends, who regard her obsession with the Unexplained as a self-dramatising affectation, rather than a method of coping with her own night terrors. This particular case has taken an unusually strong hold on Sophie's imagination and has even begun to affect the shape of her nightmares, as a second waking dream makes startlingly clear. Her subconscious is screaming at her - if she can solve this mystery, then she will finally be able to confront her own.
Sophie, then, is established as the dream-driven questing heroine of Fairytale, whose journey, though fraught with grave risks will ultimately be one of personal enlightenment. But this is a particularly grim fairy tale. Sophie's dream offers her a vision, an intimation of her own future, of the terrors and losses she will face. Her enlightenment will not come cheap, and it may not be something she wants to accept.
The friends establish a camp in the woods, and the various tensions in the group start to surface. All of these relate in some way to Sophie. Significantly much of the tension is romantic or sexual in nature, or expresses itself in such terms. Sam resents Sophie's continued hold over Jane, who still refers to Sophie as her "soul-mate", usually a term reserved for a romantic partner. Shy Dean has a hopeless crush on his sister's friend. John thinks he has more chance of success with her, but only if she'll abandon her obsession with the Unknown. Both John and in particular Sam become increasingly hostile to Sophie, deriding her as "a virgin" whose obsession is actually a means of evading emotional and sexual contact. They do not realise just how right they are.
The tensions drive Sophie away from the others, though John follows, thinking to "comfort" her. Here, in the heart of the woods, they discover the Seminary.
And at this point, Sophie's nightmares begin to take on all-too-physical form. John is attacked and killed by something bestial. Sophie is knocked unconscious, and awakes to find herself trapped in a cell-like room, very like the one in her dreams. Her captor is the wretched, barely coherent Gavin. Initially, he seems a threat: the ogre in the castle, the Beast to Sophie's Beauty. He is clearly besotted with her, but he is equally clearly disturbed, and possibly dangerous. He talks of "protecting" Sophie, suggesting that there is something else in the Seminary that will harm her. The situation has unsettling echoes for Sophie. And little by little the dreams that haunt her start to coalesce into something else as long-repressed memories struggle to surface.
Escaping from her cell, Sophie discovers that Gavin really is trying to protect her - from Vincent, his insane, utterly feral brother. She uncovers the two brothers' story: a horrible tale of systematic abuse that has left Gavin a half-insane emotional wreck, and has reduced Vincent to little more than a wild animal. And now Vincent is loose, a ravening id-creature, filled with unfocused rage and bottomless hunger, destroying everything and everyone in his path.
Sophie flees, with Vincent in pursuit, bringing violent death to those around her. Finally, she finds herself back in the woods, alone, all of her friends dead and gone, her nightmare finally coming true. And at that moment, everything she has been repressing erupts to the surface. She sees the real beast, the one who has haunted her and hunted her since childhood: the father who abused her. She understands what she has held buried in her subconscious for so long., and she lashes out, fights back for the first time in her life, annihilating Vincent; utterly feral herself in that moment, as she howls out in rage and pain the terrible truth she must suddenly confront: "I'm not a virgin, I'M NOT A VIRGIN!" It's a devastating moment. Confrontational, certainly, deeply upsetting, yes, but by no means crass or exploitative, because it is grounded so carefully in emotional reality. There is no such thing as closure. The truth is often painful, and catharsis is always violent. It may lead to release, to a cure for one's ills, or it may prove utterly destructive. As the film abandons a bloodied and battered Sophie to her fate, traumatised both by what has happened to her, and what she has discovered about herself as a result, we are left with little hope that she faces a happy future. She has finally confronted the truth about her life. Now she must live with it.
I found myself thinking about this fact as I read the other IMDb reactions to SPLINTERED, and in particular the objections to its allegedly "crass" treatment of the very serious issue of child abuse and its repercussions. Given the fact that SPLINTERED is first and foremost a horror film, not an issue-led social drama, I think the film's approach is entirely responsible and legitimate.
SPLINTERED takes the traditional tropes of the teens-in-peril slasher movie and filters them through the dark, Freudian fairy tales of Angela Carter, to powerful effect. It is the story of Sophie, haunted since childhood by dreams of being attacked by some bestial entity. The film begins with this recurring nightmare, then fast-forwards to the present, where Sophie is headed to the countryside to investigate news reports of a sheep-killing wild animal. With her are best friend, Jane, Jane's geeky brother Dean, Jane's boorish boyfriend Sam, and alpha male John, who clearly has designs on Sophie. The film establishes quickly and efficiently that Sophie is a troubled young woman, isolated even among her friends, who regard her obsession with the Unexplained as a self-dramatising affectation, rather than a method of coping with her own night terrors. This particular case has taken an unusually strong hold on Sophie's imagination and has even begun to affect the shape of her nightmares, as a second waking dream makes startlingly clear. Her subconscious is screaming at her - if she can solve this mystery, then she will finally be able to confront her own.
Sophie, then, is established as the dream-driven questing heroine of Fairytale, whose journey, though fraught with grave risks will ultimately be one of personal enlightenment. But this is a particularly grim fairy tale. Sophie's dream offers her a vision, an intimation of her own future, of the terrors and losses she will face. Her enlightenment will not come cheap, and it may not be something she wants to accept.
The friends establish a camp in the woods, and the various tensions in the group start to surface. All of these relate in some way to Sophie. Significantly much of the tension is romantic or sexual in nature, or expresses itself in such terms. Sam resents Sophie's continued hold over Jane, who still refers to Sophie as her "soul-mate", usually a term reserved for a romantic partner. Shy Dean has a hopeless crush on his sister's friend. John thinks he has more chance of success with her, but only if she'll abandon her obsession with the Unknown. Both John and in particular Sam become increasingly hostile to Sophie, deriding her as "a virgin" whose obsession is actually a means of evading emotional and sexual contact. They do not realise just how right they are.
The tensions drive Sophie away from the others, though John follows, thinking to "comfort" her. Here, in the heart of the woods, they discover the Seminary.
And at this point, Sophie's nightmares begin to take on all-too-physical form. John is attacked and killed by something bestial. Sophie is knocked unconscious, and awakes to find herself trapped in a cell-like room, very like the one in her dreams. Her captor is the wretched, barely coherent Gavin. Initially, he seems a threat: the ogre in the castle, the Beast to Sophie's Beauty. He is clearly besotted with her, but he is equally clearly disturbed, and possibly dangerous. He talks of "protecting" Sophie, suggesting that there is something else in the Seminary that will harm her. The situation has unsettling echoes for Sophie. And little by little the dreams that haunt her start to coalesce into something else as long-repressed memories struggle to surface.
Escaping from her cell, Sophie discovers that Gavin really is trying to protect her - from Vincent, his insane, utterly feral brother. She uncovers the two brothers' story: a horrible tale of systematic abuse that has left Gavin a half-insane emotional wreck, and has reduced Vincent to little more than a wild animal. And now Vincent is loose, a ravening id-creature, filled with unfocused rage and bottomless hunger, destroying everything and everyone in his path.
Sophie flees, with Vincent in pursuit, bringing violent death to those around her. Finally, she finds herself back in the woods, alone, all of her friends dead and gone, her nightmare finally coming true. And at that moment, everything she has been repressing erupts to the surface. She sees the real beast, the one who has haunted her and hunted her since childhood: the father who abused her. She understands what she has held buried in her subconscious for so long., and she lashes out, fights back for the first time in her life, annihilating Vincent; utterly feral herself in that moment, as she howls out in rage and pain the terrible truth she must suddenly confront: "I'm not a virgin, I'M NOT A VIRGIN!" It's a devastating moment. Confrontational, certainly, deeply upsetting, yes, but by no means crass or exploitative, because it is grounded so carefully in emotional reality. There is no such thing as closure. The truth is often painful, and catharsis is always violent. It may lead to release, to a cure for one's ills, or it may prove utterly destructive. As the film abandons a bloodied and battered Sophie to her fate, traumatised both by what has happened to her, and what she has discovered about herself as a result, we are left with little hope that she faces a happy future. She has finally confronted the truth about her life. Now she must live with it.