Good evening, House of Madness creatures:
When the credits roll, there are times you need to take a minute (or thirty) to let things digest before jumping to a rushed opinion. Once you've mentally macerated what you've just seen, you are then able to decipher whether it was 'WTF!?' in a good way, or in a way that makes you want to throw your TV remote at Jake Gyllenhaal after watching 2013's "Enemy". Good for you if you knew what the fuck was going on at any point in that flick, and the fact that a 30+ minute YouTube video exists just to explain what it was about, makes me feel vindicated in my stance. On the opposite end of the 'WTF!?' spectrum would be a movie I've mentioned on here before by the name of "Midsommar"; yes, the ending may seem a bit abstract or distorted at first, but upon reflection on the walk back to my car, I was able to appreciate the film's entirety, and felt satisfied that I had grasped its desired meaning. I would say "A Wounded Fawn" falls somewhere between the two aforementioned films, and it left me feeling about as satisfied as I would after finishing a porterhouse steak at Burger King.
After losing out on an auction piece for a client, Bruce Ernst (Josh Ruben) follows Kate Horna (Malin Barr) home in order to make her one last proposition on the prize in which she reigned supreme with her winning bid. He offers her client double what she paid on their behalf, with an extra $25,000 for her troubles. She counters with 20% of his commission as well to seal the deal, which he accepts graciously. As she heads inside, she invites Bruce in for a drink while she calls her client to explain the instant doubling of their money. As they make small talk, a red light appears in the background, and a towering owl is standing in the bathroom doorway. Either Kate has a really weird pet, or something sinister is about to happen. Bruce attaches what looks to be almost bird talons on his hand, and proceeds to stab Kate in the neck, and eventually claws her to death as she bleeds out. How many times do we need to be told as a society to keep our doors locked at night, and to never answer the door after purchasing a precious statue for $135,000 at an auction? Sheesh people!
A short time in the future, Meredith (Sarah Lind) is being purposely coy with her two friends and co-workers Julia (Laksmi Priyah Hedemark) and Wendy (Tanya Everett) at the art museum about a guy she's going away with for the weekend, because she just met him, and doesn't want to jinx anything or stoke their probing curiosities. After work, Meredith heads home, packs, and sets out with her new beau Bruce for a weekend away at his secluded cabin in the woods. Uh-oh........ The long drive up is spent getting to know each other with everyday questions and small talk, until Meredith sees a roadside stand and asks Bruce if he could stop so she can use the restroom. He anxiously asks her if she can "hold it" as they're getting close to the cabin, and he doesn't want to break up their momentum. She reluctantly agrees, but it leaves what is to be the first of many innocent suspicions about her newfound love interest. As they're pulling up to the cabin, it's now pitch black outside, and I wondered to myself if Meredith has a bladder the size of Puerto Rico, or if she simply pissed in some beer bottles to appease her inner Lloyd Christmas. More important questions await!
As they enter the bungalow, Meredith immediately recognizes the statue on Bruce's coffee table, as it had just been appraised and certified for authenticity by her museum. Bruce insists it's a reproduction (which she has her doubts), and starts on dinner while Meredith puts on a record and begins to snoop through Bruce's belongings, while also snapping a pic of the statue and sending it to Wendy. Between an empty photo album (I guess somebody doesn't like pictures) and another book on the shelf, she finds a polaroid of Bruce and a woman named 'Leonora'. Meredith then starts hearing and seeing things that couldn't possibly be there, right? The front door opens on its own, and as Meredith investigates she is certain that they're not alone in the ominous forest. Bruce finds her in an almost frenzied state, and lets her know that her mind is playing tricks on her, and to come back inside as dinner is ready. As Bruce yaps and yaps, Meredith is clearly disinterested and seems to be on a different planet. He asks if everything is ok, and Meredith in return asks about Leonora to which Bruce declares he has no clue. Suddenly, the light turns on over the patio behind where Bruce is sitting, and Meredith swears she saw a woman lurking outside the door. Bruce heads outside to investigate, quickly declares it's nothing, and heads back inside the house. This is getting weird for Meredith, and her and Bruce have some awkward conversation that ultimately ends with her asking him to drive her back to the city.
As Meredith is packing her things back up, her phone rings, and it's Wendy with some big news which we're already privy to: the statue has been reported missing, along with the woman that bought it at the auction. Yikes. Meredith makes her way to the living room, where a struggle ensues with Bruce and his taloned hand of murderous intentions, she is eventually overpowered, and meets her demise in a pool of blood rushing from her neck wounds......or so Bruce thinks. Soon after, he returns to the scene of the crime, only to be bludgened over and over until he loses consciousness. The rest of the film is Bruce fighting his brain and inner demons which he proclaims make him do the things he does, and he's really not a bad guy. As he falls deeper and deeper into mental anguish, he is met again by Meredith, who seems to have been orchestrating his latest episode of schizophrenia, playing off his demented visions as a reality only he can fathom. Or is Meredith simply a pawn in Bruce's tragic dream-like play of self destruction in which there can be no winners, and the most heinous acts are committed by the blameless?
This movie is weird, at times a bit campy, has questionable at best special effects, and can definitely be confusing, but also has a gravity that really pulled me in during Act I, which for me made up for a lot of the shortcomings in Act II. If I learned anything from "A Wounded Fawn", it's definitely don't trust 7 foot tall owls, and if you're going to head out to a house in the middle of nowhere with a complete stranger, wear a turtleneck, the itch is worth the hassle.
Madness Meter: 5.6/10
NB
