Ryan McNeil
On the American frontier, the wind could drive women crazy. Omnipresent, unrelenting, and deafening, a gale across an open plain was a natural force that could shake even the most God-fearing woman to her core.
Maybe it was enough to believe that the wind was punishment from the almighty…or a darker force staking its claim.
THE WIND is a neo-western thriller from director Emma Tammi. The story – set in pioneer Missouri – is all about Lizzy (Caitlin Gerard). She senses something sinister stirring in the air outside her cabin, something with the malice of wolves at the door. This darkness wreaks havoc on her new neighbours, and her own husband…seemingly leaving Lizzy alone to confront a demonic presence that can move with the power of the wind.
THE WIND is quietly viscous. It is brutal without being bloody, and ominous without being scary. It’s a reminder of the curses our ancestors invoked by setting up homes where they weren’t supposed to be, and how these curses came with warning wails. Women like Lizzy could see the dangers they were putting themselves in front of, but men like her husband wouldn’t listen.
I’d love to say times have changed…but…well…y’know…
THE WIND uses feelings of deep isolation to mess with its audience. It makes us feel the unease with the usual bumps and creaks in the night, but then makes us look out the window and see not a single light burning. It’s just us – for miles. Us and whatever is tying to get us.
THE WIND knows the shock and sorrow of a midwife covered with blood, and also the badassery of that same midwife wielding a shotgun. It knows how to contrast the livelihood of the past with the eeriness of the present, and how to employ sound and vision to drive that contrast home.
Late in the game, Lizzy is asked if she is no longer a God-fearing woman. She never answers, but maybe that’s because the answer is obvious. As the merciless winds sail around her, it doesn’t matter if she’s God-fearing or not…since even if she was, odds are God can’t hear her.