May 3, 2016

There are varying degrees of what people consider horror. With so many sub-genres, it’s really a matter of taste as to what “scares” you. What makes you feel horrified? By definition, horror is, “an overwhelming feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear.” I don’t mind that every once in a while, but that’s usually why I personally gravitate towards horror/comedies. I just like to have fun! The point being, it’s a rarity that at this stage for me to come across a horror movie that manages to inexplicably get under my skin. EMELIE is that movie.

Directed by Michael Thelin from a story he penned with Richard Raymond and Harry Herbeck, EMELIE is a fairly simple, straight forward story about a long-term couple just wanting to enjoy their anniversary with a proper date night. Their usual babysitter is tied up with a previous engagement and so she recommends her good friend Anna to look after their 3 children. Anna seems sweet and angelic. She’s very polite and immediately takes a liking to Christopher, the youngest of the 3 kids.

As can be predicted, once the parents head out for their romantic dinner, Anna slowly starts to show signs that maybe she’s not as innocent as her persona initially implied. The execution of the way this all unfolds is part of what makes the film so tremendously unsettling. It’s not as if Anna turns “evil” the second the parents leave the kids alone. It’s a very gradual, drawn out process getting to understand her mental state. She seems particularly hostile towards Sally, the daughter. And the rambunctious Jacob, the oldest of the three, definitely senses something off with Anna almost immediately.

Despite having a mild crush on her, Anna plays on that to disarm the young kid. In one scene, Jacob accidently walks into the bathroom while Anna’s on the toilet, and the girl insists he stay. Then she instructs him to hand her a tampon. Another sequence features Anna making all 3 kids watch as she feeds Sally’s pet hamster to a snake. I actually almost lost it over this one scene in particular. And somehow Anna finds a homemade porno of the parents and, well… you just have to see it.

It’s one of those movies that, as I was watching it, I started to hate moment by tense moment. Not that the actors weren’t doing absolutely terrific work in their roles or the film wasn’t shot well or anything like that. Even though I, myself, don’t have children, I was extremely uncomfortable with the way this girl was treating these kids. Any sort of peril to kids or animals in horror is still taboo, but what about psychological peril? All I could think of was what if this woman was looking after any of my friend’s kids?

There is a method to the madness; a reason Anna is the way she is and it’s not overdrawn or explained with a long diatribe of expositional dialogue. We get it in glimpses and it’s deeply effective. Again, I was tremendously uneasy while watching, but once the movie ended and I processed it, I rather loved it. Because that’s what a good horror movie is supposed to do: give you that overwhelming feeling of awkwardness and dread. Make you think about about something you fear and face it. Parents with young kids, beware. This movie will definitely make you second guess your next date night and babysitter.