Film Review: Lord of Tears (2013)

SYNOPSIS:

Lord of Tears tells the story of James Findlay, a school teacher plagued by recurring nightmares of a mysterious and unsettling entity. Suspecting that his visions are linked to a dark incident in his past, James returns to his childhood home, a notorious mansion in the Scottish Highlands, where he uncovers the disturbing truth behind his dreams, and must fight to survive the brutal consequences of his curiosity.

REVIEW:

James Findlay (David Schofield), a middle aged school teacher is called in to attend the last will and testament of his mother Flora May Findlay (Nancy Joy Page). Estranged with may years between them, it comes as a surprise that she would bother with handing over an inheritance. Her inheritance includes the rights to a large house that resides within Baldurruck.

The name is of course familiar as a place Jamie had spent much of youth. There is one problem, his recollection includes the dreadful memories of a owl-headed creature with elongated fingers. Add to that his mother’s request that Jamie “never got there”. Jamie’s best friend Allen suggests that Jamie confront his fears and visit the estate. Hopefully he can draw conclusion to the memories that haunt him.

Upon arrival, James is quickly made acquaintance to a young attractive spirited lady named Eve Turner (though referred to as “Evie” in the film). She quickly sparks up the visit bringing light to an often dreary exploration that James has taken upon himself. Plagued with nightmares he tries to put the pieces together as to why he suffers from nightmares, what the owl symbolizes, and what secrets this location has hidden.

As Evie explains that she is learning French with dreams of living in Paris, she also becomes a frequent visitor befriending James during his quest. The character Evie is played by actress, performer, and choreographer Alexandra Hulme. Lexy adds her talents often to the film’s most powerful moments creating presence, elegance, and beauty (a film that might otherwise just flourish within its haunted presentation).

As our 2 main characters evolve, a synergy develops between them that intelligently carries the story to its final act. To comment on the particulars of this 3rd act would give away the surprise, though it was clear to me that the approach here was a combination of Asian horror, classic horror, and a slice of modern pointing to the “slender man” phenomenon. With that said, this is no “slender man” film, though the imagery is very familiar.

James soon discovers that the house was built upon a Pagan shrine. This begins to set the investigation and the clues of the house into motion. While Evie provides a warm, affectionate sense to the whole ordeal, Jamie begins to grow attached to her presence often intermixing his nightmares with more seductive ones that arise from his new infatuation.

“Lord of Tears” is a 2013 release shot and created in the UK. It’s filming locations include the tranquil and sometimes eerie set locals of Scotland. Directed by Lawrie Brewster, it was very apparent from the start that this film was created under a talented team and direction of which also carried over into the screener presentation itself.

I usually don’t comment on materials sent, but this pack included a DVD, bluray, and audio CD packages exquisitely contained within a owl featured wrapper. The audio CD itself really deserves a review on its own as its brilliantly composed with orchestral haunts, angelic voicings and a carefully composed score of distant piano tones, somber drones and melancholy jaunts of macabre and purpose. In other words, despite this being a great film, its audio product is of equal impressiveness. As you already guess, the CD is the soundtrack to this delightful film which only makes it that much stronger to experience.

The production team behind this include Dark Dune Productions and Hex Media. Remember those names as it would certianly indicate the arrival of quality products worth experiencing.

In closing, I extremely enjoyed the full production from front to back. Rather than just going the route of horror only, the film tackles things intelligently while also paying slight homage to its roots. I was compelled to watch the extras that followed to get a better idea of the filmmakers vision. It’s worth a view as it compliments the film as a whole. It is also worth mentioning that a new film is being planned as of the completion of this one. I highly recommend genre fans to support this team when they are ready to roll out a 2nd release. Lord of Tears was presented in bluray, which is really the way to view this. You can find more about the film and pick up some cool products at hexmedia

Lord of Tears (2013)