The One's You Didn't Burn is a short, slow burning, folk horror, from first time filmmaker Elise Finnerty.
Who also stars in the picture as the antagonist.
The majority of the film plods along rather slowly, as we watch a brother and sister return to their hometown, after the suicide of their father.
Forcing them to come to grips with their family's dark past...which they have now inherited the legacy of.
The film definitely benefits from it's short runtime (around 70 mins)...because there is far too much drama...and not enough horror to balance it out.
Barely anything happens upwards of 90% through the film.
Which leads you to expect that Finnerty is playing with the long established folk horror trope, of having an explosive ending.
However, it plays out more like a mystery, than it does a horror.
Which leaves you feeling a bit unfulfilled, in the end.
Of course, there is an element of horror to it.
It just doesn't seem enough to justify the slow burn approach.
So you can't help but be bored by it all.
That being said...it's a valiant effort for a first feature.
And I look forward to see what Finnerty can produce going forward, as she matures as a filmmaker.
However, this just didn't do it for me.
As the end doesn't seem to justify the means.
2 out of 10.
Who also stars in the picture as the antagonist.
The majority of the film plods along rather slowly, as we watch a brother and sister return to their hometown, after the suicide of their father.
Forcing them to come to grips with their family's dark past...which they have now inherited the legacy of.
The film definitely benefits from it's short runtime (around 70 mins)...because there is far too much drama...and not enough horror to balance it out.
Barely anything happens upwards of 90% through the film.
Which leads you to expect that Finnerty is playing with the long established folk horror trope, of having an explosive ending.
However, it plays out more like a mystery, than it does a horror.
Which leaves you feeling a bit unfulfilled, in the end.
Of course, there is an element of horror to it.
It just doesn't seem enough to justify the slow burn approach.
So you can't help but be bored by it all.
That being said...it's a valiant effort for a first feature.
And I look forward to see what Finnerty can produce going forward, as she matures as a filmmaker.
However, this just didn't do it for me.
As the end doesn't seem to justify the means.
2 out of 10.
