Lore

I still remember one specific camping trip to Norway back in 1989. I was 12 years old at that time and we travelled with our school class to hang out with Norwegian children our age over a couple of days. The idea was we were supposed to learn about survival in nature and they had prepared different tasks that we were meant to do together with our new Norwegian friends. I remember we built tents out of trees and other material such as spruce twigs instead of the ordinary tent material.  We had plenty of canned food and water but we were also supposed to learn what mushrooms we could eat. During one of these days we were told that today we would fish and if we got enough fish for everyone we will barbcue it over an open fire. I remember that we at least managed to get enough fish so we could share meals and 2 of the children walked through the woods with a teacher to find firewood. This was a good week right before the real autumn started and it was probably the biggest camping trip i have done in my life so far. I also remember at this trip during the evening i would take out my portable Sony Walkman cassette player listening to Johnny Hates Jazz abum Turn Back The Time. Even until these days i do go to lake trips sometimes and just take a whole day there enjoying food over an open fire, swimming, doing some reading in the sun. Speaking of camping there are loads and loads of horror films where the story is connected to a camping vacation or a camping story. I have seen plenty of horror films in this category since the 80´s and even in more modern times we do get camping horror films released. One film i can recommend is the 2016 Australian horror thriller film Killing Ground from director Damien Power. It may not be a very original film but as a camping horror thriller i feel that Killing Ground have enough powerful nature scenes to please fans of this specific genre plus most of the acting is really good. I should probably say that the film jumps around in the timeline but i still enjoy it. You can probably find it cheap on DVD or blu ray if you want to check this film out. Speaking of horror films with camping one film i have been wanting to see for a while is the horror anthology film known as Lore. I remember seeing the movie poster of this film and it looked quite interesting. Since i am a big fan of the genre known as anthology horror i decided to give this film a chance. Is Lore one of the most interesting films in this genre this year or is this a total disaster from start to finish?

Four hikers gather for an "immersive" experience in the wilds who is set up by mystical Darwin ( Richard Brake ). During their first night together Darwin suggests that each one who joined on this experience will throw a totum ( a sacred piece of wood ) into the fire and tell their story for everyone. Each story will not only bring chaos and terror but also learn these hikers a lesson.

When it comes to horror anthology films i always have a specific rule if you are going to make me enjoy your film. You have to have some interesting stories to tell, at least most of the stories have to capture my attention. Because if you don´t make an attempt to make most of the stories interesting then the idea behind a horror anthology film falls to the ground pretty quickly. In the case of Lore i can at least say that this is not a bad film in this specific genre. There are certain details that help Lore function well as a horror film so let us begin with what i enjoy most about this film. I would say that there is not one bad story in these segments, each one brings something to the table. Are there segments better than others? Of course, i believe this is a personal taste since each story is very different from each other and i appreciate the diversity. This makes the anthology horror idea surrounding this film more enjoyable to watch. Let´s get into what i feel works best with Lore and i have to say legendary actor Richard Brake ( who is definetely worth seeing in th 2008 horror film Outpost, worth picking up on DVD ) as the character Darwin. I have to say he is the best casting choice for this film as the camping leader. The way he tells stories and capture the audience with his magical screen presence fits very well with his character. There are so many characters in this film in all the segments but let´s talk about my two favourite segments of Lore. And that is the very first story called Shadows from director James Bushe. A simple story that may look like criminals fighting but have an unexpected twist. The second favourite segment is the religious cult story Cross Your Heart from director Greig Johnson, that´s actually pretty brutal and fun. To the negative i would probably say that the segment The Hidden Woman had an interesting idea but lacks of lazy story telling. I also feel that certain characters in the segment The Campire felt quite boring to listen to. Other than that i do feel Lore have anough to offer fans of this specific genre and i do think the film looks good from a technical perspective. Each director of Lore proves that you can make a quality anthology horror film on a limited budget. Definetely worth a watch if you love camping stories and practical effects as well combined, Lore hits the right spot with me for sure.

Rating: DDD