Lore (2023) Review
Four young thrill-seeking friends book a horror-themed camping excursion led by Darwin, a strange and eccentric guide. One night around the campfire, Darwin encourages them to tell the scariest and most twisted story of which they can think. As they recount tales of sinister spirits and malevolent demons, the group soon realises that these stories will have very real consequences for them all.
In recent years anthology flicks have been made up of unassociated short films that have been assembled. LORE was specifically constructed to be an anthology with the short stories scripted and filmed specifically for it and it shows. It is more cohesive and flows better however as with all anthologies, LORE makes for variable quality.
Rob Zombie favourite Richard Brake (BARBARIAN) excels as horror-themed excursion guide Darwin who encourages his small ensemble to share spooky stories around the campfire in LORE’s wraparound story. However, I was not so sure why the four youngsters turned up for the occasion as they seem cynical and disbelieving from the very start.
The first two segments lack anything substantial nor provide the viewer with a decent punchline. First up we have ‘SHADOWS,’ there’s a monster lurking in the shadows of a disused warehouse. Where it goes offers no surprises, and, as well-made as second story ‘THE HIDDEN WOMAN’ is, again, it offers up a big ‘so what’ come its climax. Stick with LORE though as after these two segments things take an upward swing.
‘CROSS YOUR HEART’ is without doubt the anthology’s highlight. British comedian Rufus Hound nails it as swinger Steve who gets a lot more than he expects from an evening’s wife-swapping. It is funny, surprising and moves at a zippy pace. It is an absolute delight from beginning to end balancing humour and horror with panache.
To conclude there’s slasher comedy horror at a near empty multiplex. All the ingredients are in place however the humour does not work as well as it did with CROSS YOUR HEART, feeling more forced, but overall, it is still a close runner-up to CROSS YOUR HEART for the best segment in LORE.
Lore will be available exclusively in the UK on the Icon Film Channel from 26th August, in select UK Cinemas from 27th September and then on Digital Download from 21st October
iconfilmchannel.uk
Watch Trailer here:
LORE will be available on ICON Film Channel from August 26th.