HORA

HORA

(A.k.a. THE WHORE)

The opening credits are interspersed with footage of two blondes walking furtively down an unlit country lane at night. A car's headlights startle them and they jump into the nearby bushes for refuge. Alas, their hiding is to no avail and they are attacked - culminating in one of them getting a knife rammed between her wide open legs.

Then we meet Rikke (Isabel Vibe). She's an aspiring author who travels out to her mother's home in a rural area of Norway, looking for the peace and quiet she requires while finishing her novel. On the way, she stops at a petrol station to fill her car up and wins the unwanted attention of a group of salivating men.

Hmm, do you notice anything familiar about that last paragraph?

Rikke recognises two of the fellows from her past, when she grew up at mummy's country-set home. The problem is, they recognise her too ... and have never forgiven her for exposing her mother's affair with their father ...

It's not hard to see where this one is headed, given that it's sold on the basis of being a 'rape-revenge' film - and that its précis already bares some striking similarities to I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. Indeed, Rikke is about to suffer some prolonged sexual abuse: there's even a mentally handicapped gent present, just to reinforce the echoes of Meir Zarchi's infamous progenitor.

At the very least, you can expect a splashy revenge once all of the nasty sexual violence is out of the way ...

HORA marked the directorial debut of Reinert Kiil. He was 27 when he shot it, over a period of 10 days in Oslo and on a budget that roughly equals £35,000.00. He also wrote the less-than-original screenplay, but what he lacks in originality he compensates for with a yen for brutal violence and a simple storytelling style that allows momentum to consistently build. And, yes, he does tie-in the opening attack to later events.

Vibe, making the transition from porno to 'straight' filmmaking, is surprisingly good in her vengeful role. Perhaps not the most vulnerable-looking soul, she does however exude sexiness and venom in equal measures. The resolution on her face in the films second half is convincing, as are her screams in the discomfiting earlier scenes. She's one to watch.

Murky and uncouth in typical low-budget style, HORA is nevertheless highly efficient in the editing and photography stakes. Performances are adequate throughout, and the set pieces are woven frequently but naturally enough into the unfussy script.

Quieter moments of contemplation don't really kill the pace, as a sleazy vibe is felt throughout. This is perhaps achieved by the same merry accident that lent many 1970s films of this ilk the same dubious appeal.

On the down side, the script is often clunky and the DV aesthetics sometimes can't help but make the film look as cheap as it was to make. Also, the fact that the scenes of sexual abuse are pretty harsh is either a good thing or a bad thing - depending which side of the fence you lean upon.

Another World Entertainment's DVD is a good one.

The film has what I assume is a naturally flat look - all washed-out colours and rather dark visuals - in what is an otherwise reasonably sharp and smooth 16x9 picture.

Scandinavian (actually a mixture of Norwegian and Danish) 2.0 audio is well balanced, clean and clear. Optional subtitles are available in Norwegian and English. These can only be activated via the main menu.

Speaking of which, an animated main menu page leads into a static scene-selection menu allowing access to HORA via 4 chapters.

Extras begin with an all-too-short 5-minute Behind The Scenes featurette. Still, the shoot looks to have been very low budget indeed and quite light-hearted.

Next up is 5 minutes of handheld video footage from the But Film Festival, where HORA won the award for Best Film. "Frank from topoftheflops.com" interviews Vibe and Kiil, and gets a fair bit of questions in considering the meagre running time.

A 44-second trailer follows, and manages to reveal practically nothing about the film.

Filmographies for Vibe, co-stars Jorgen Langhelle and Minken Tveitan, cinematographer Patrik Safstrom and Kiil are next. Also, we get five pages of trivia concerning the film. Unfortunately all of these are in Danish text only.

An attractively arranged gallery rounds out the extras relating to HORA.

The only other features on the disc are trailers for PLAGUE TOWN, SAUNA, MURDER SET PIECES, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK.

HORA is a good film, if somewhat uneven and misguided in its intent. The FX are basic but competent, the performances are okay - Vibe is really good - and director Kiil shows real potential. Despite the odd moment of dark humour, it's good to see such a bleak horror film emerge from Norway. Just don't buy into this expecting something as light, or as accomplished, as DEAD SNOW.

For its own dubious sub-genre though, HORA stands as an above-average contemporary entry to the field.

Review by Stu Willis


 
Released by Another World Entertainment
Region 2 - PAL
Not Rated
Extras :
see main review
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