The Other Lamb (2019)

Directed by: Malgorzata Szumowska | 97 minutes | drama, horror | Actors: Michiel Huisman, Raffey Cassidy, Denise Gough, Eve Connolly, Kelly Campbell, Isabelle Connolly, Ailbhe Cowley, Irene Kelleher, Jane Herbert, Charlotte Moore, Mallory Adams, David Fawaz, Zara Devlin, Eva Mullen, Juliette Crosbie

Horror films about religious sects have again increased in popularity in recent years. The subgenre reached its peak in the 1970s with ‘The Wicker Man’ (1973), but with current titles such as ‘Midsommar’ (2019), the cult madness in film has made a comeback. The theme often proves to be a useful means of placing characters in bizarre and unfamiliar situations. Many of these films are set in one isolated environment, which is advantageous for a director with a limited budget. The latest horror film tackling the subject is ‘The Other Lamb’, the English-language directorial debut of Polish filmmaker Małgorzata Szumowska.

The Other Lamb revolves around Selah (Raffey Cassidy), a young girl who lives in a remote forest. Selah is part of a self-sufficient community that she has been a member of all her life. This group consists mainly of women and is led by a man named Shepherd (Michiel Huisman). Shepard’s followers strictly follow his rules: they wear the same kind of clothes, live in huts and sing all kinds of quasi-religious songs at his command. Shepard also randomly picks a partner every night to share the bed with. When the police show up one day and threaten to evict them from the forest area, the entire group must suddenly leave and take a long journey to the ‘Eden’ promised by Shepherd. Along the way, however, Selah begins to experience a crisis of faith, accompanied by all sorts of ominous visions. The longer the journey takes, the more Selah begins to rebel against Sheperd.

There is little positive to report on ‘The Other Lamb’. Because apart from a few beautiful nature shots, the film falls short on all fronts. The dialogues are wooden, the characters are flat and the story is downright boring. In addition, the film never really gets scary at any point. For her suspense, director Szumowska relies mainly on scenes full of symbolic images and close-ups of characters staring into the distance. That ‘The Other Lamb’ can be labeled as a ‘horror film’ with this kind of artistic choices is really ridiculous. This is not horror, this is pseudo-profound nonsense of the purest kind.

Another crucial problem in ‘The Other Lamb’ is the fact that we learn very little about the characters and their relationships. How Shepherd started his movement, what his faith is about, or where he got his members from is simply never explained. As a result, the group is unable to arouse any emotion. Selah also falls prey to this total absence of character development. The film really wants you to believe that Selah is a telling character, but it never bothers to give her a genuine character arc. It is simply painful for a talented young actress like Raffey Cassidy to accept such an insignificant role. Cassidy doesn’t leave an impression here and it’s a waste of her talent.

There are many things you can blame ‘The Other Lamb’ for, but the total lack of personality is perhaps his worst sin. There is no soul, no originality, just conceit and an insensitive atmosphere. The film excels at dullness and gives the impression of being a bunch of randomly put together scenes that the director thought would be significant. Because ‘The Other Lamb’ never gets scary and has nothing else to offer, this film is not a significant addition to the horror genre.