Spoiler Alert
Cameron Beyl‘s film, The Veil, comes loaded with certain expectations, and when I know something about how communing with spirit world might work, everything that gets developed is picture perfect. Not only is the cinematography gorgeous to behold but also the meaning behind this simply titled film is very telling.
Here, what’s presented concerns what happens during a solar storm. In what a young Douglas (Sean O’Bryan), a then priest in training, witnesses while driving down a lonely road one night is a wonderful aurora borealis. Little does he know that its effect will cause him to have nightmares much later in life. That’s because during this green tempest, he nearly runs into an Amish girl (Rebekah Kennedy) fleeing for her life. We assume she’s escaped from some abusive individual.
His choice to not help will haunt him for the remainder of his days, and there’s little he can do to absolve himself from that memory. When this story flash forwards to his retirement years, one has to wonder why he prefers to live in isolation. And when this solar activity happens again, just how he feels is rather strange. He understands what’s happening will cut him off from civilization. Every piece of electronics he has won’t function, and pretty soon, someone knocks at his door. Hannah is hurt, and it looks like Douglas redeems himself in the eyes of the Lord. Although he doesn’t understand how this Amish community works, he assumes that all is not well.
Everything seems okay until she disappears! Confused, this man wonders what’s going on, and for me, all I could do is snicker. In what’s presented as a ghost story, gets turned around. That’s because it’s said the veil is often thin at certain times of the year, and not everyone knows that according to indigenous lore, it’s widely believed that spirits lurk within the lights. It’s possible to communicate with them.
In this film, what’s suggested is that they can visit your dreams, and when Douglas has been having that relapse, perhaps those spirits have paid him a brief call! Of course, that’s not the case. What’s presented certainly twists a few conventions around; the tropes that get played out are telling. From a clock that would chime at midnight to why a window keeps on opening by itself, it made me think. Is this individual facing an intelligent haunt?
The mystery had me glued to much of the second act. Hannah keeps on disappearing and instead of going groundhog day with her regular visits at the front door, what’s presented proposes a sinister force is at work here! This concept had me wondering just what book of paranormal lore is Beyl drawing from?
Also, this presentation is gorgeous on a big screen! Sometimes, the tech guys forget to adjust the gamma so that the blacks have the right balance to them and I was lucky to see the film in all its proper glory. That’s because the Northern Lights really need to pulse and glow properly, in order to evoke the dreamlike quality that cinematographer David Gordon was aiming to capture. The only time reality interjects itself is when candles are lit, and we look at what remains laying around in the home Douglas bought, and now lives in.
For instance, nobody knew there was an old rotary dial phone, and it became rather convenient when Hannah found it. It seems there’s another story that can help aid in explaining why she came here. Although she thought she’d find the previous owners, Douglas is the new owner; to me, it seems the previous occupants’ disappearance (as they didn’t move) was a result of a sudden death, and what this priest bought is a house with more than one ghost fleeting about!
Despite the lack of back story, what’s presented is still a delightful tale in the vein of what I would expect from an episode of The Twilight Zone! There’s a lesson to be learned, and as for whether I’d be brave to deal with the devil in the pale moonlight, that’s best saved should this filmmaker want to expand this tale further.
4 Stars out of 5
The Veil Movie Trailer
Discover more from Otaku no Culture
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
