An entertaining horror anthology, Lore provides the audience with a lot to love with its four main stories. Although some do not feel as fleshed out as the others, the potential for it to be better was high. Still, a good time will be had watching this one.
Four friends arrange a ghostly excursion. Their guide asks them each to tell the scariest story they have ever heard, but little do they know those stories will have major consequences for them and others.
Some anthologies make a succinct effort to weave their short stories into the main story. Tenants is a recent example of a film that utilises the wraparound well. The more generic attempts usually involve a group sitting around telling each other stories. While we have a group doing that here in Lore, there is a purpose to it that ties in wonderfully once we get to the end of the film.
The first story, ‘Shadows’, is a gripping tale of a man being pursued by gang members through an industrial estate. As he attempts to evade them, another sinister presence emerges from the shadows. This story is filled with unexpected twists that keep the audience on the edge of their seats, and it effectively builds a sense of unease. Although it loses its way and becomes a little predictable at the end, there is more than enough to love from it.
The second story in Lore’s Hidden Woman’ is the strongest and perhaps the most frustrating. A mother and son move into a home that has more dark secrets than they could ever expect. It is firmly focused more on the supernatural, so much of it works, and just when you are invested in the story, it ends. This is one of those aspects of an anthology that grate. When a story has so much potential and is actively working at making the audience uneasy, it squanders it due to not having enough time to be fully fleshed out and to provide us a satisfying ending, or in this case, an actual ending. There are moments in this story with you on edge, especially when the mother catches the ghost with her son. For it to not have an ending is almost heartbreaking from a story standpoint.
‘Cross Your Heart’ is next and tells the tale of a couple on their anniversary deciding to participate in a swingers night at a cheap hotel. The main struggle with this one is how Steve (Rufus Hound) was meant to be married to Hannah (Jennifer K. Preston), seeing as she is so wholly out of the league, even from a character standpoint, that it hurts your head trying to figure it out. That said, there is a scene that involves an utterly fantastic mask. Basically, anything that happens next in this comedic horror short is going to be a winner (even if it means seeing some people run around corridors in the funniest way imaginable). The moral of the story? Swinging just ain’t worth it, lads.
Last up is ‘The Keychain Man,’ a fun slasher about an employee who goes insane and kills everyone at a late-night horror screening in a cinema. This one is all about the kills, though, with some utterly enjoyable deaths that thoroughly entertain; who knew a popcorn scoop could cause so much wonderfully gross damage?
Starting with what you would consider serious segments before switching to two lighter ones doesn’t wholly work as much as Lore needs it to. The latter half is filled with just that bit too much lightness, which makes the film a little lopsided in tone.
What helps, though, is how different each story is in themes. Allowing each to be different gives Lore that boost in that we are not seeing the same type of story repeatedly. There is a uniqueness to each story that works. Some of the shorts are perfect for this shorter form of storytelling, whereas, with two of the four, you feel as if there was more to be delved from those ideas that could stretch easily enough to be their own feature. Regardless, what we get in each one is still of great quality.
Sadly, not having some of the stories fleshed out as well as they could and should be, hurts Lore. The Hidden Woman could have been so much better considering the potential in the story and the work carried out on the ghost herself, for example. It’s a shame as there is so much to love out of this fun anthology. The lack of depth in those couple of segments stops Lore from being an essential watch, but from what we do get, it is certainly one that you should give a punt for if you see it cross your path.
Lore is now available to stream exclusively on the Icon Film Channel, in Select UK Cinemas from 27th September, and then available on Home Entertainment from 21st October.
★★★
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