The Painted

Something not that many people know in my private life is that my mother Lena painted several beautiful paintings, especially in the early 70´s. Even though i have not seen all of her paintings over the years i remember one specifically. It was a painting of Swedish nature around the city known as Skövde. She really captured a realistic look of nature surrounding this city and i have visited this city in the past, so i can remember where this painting was supposed to be located. The majestic trees and even a small details such as leaves was very well crafted in this painting. So in 1992 at the age of 15 i decided to try art class at my school. At first i struggled finding what  painting style would fit me, but then i noticed the art of The Netherlands painter Vincent Van Gogh in several art books and i was especially interested in his sunflower paintings. Before summer break of 1993 i finished a painting inspired by Van Gogh´s sunflowers and my art teacher was suprised how well i managed to capture the style on Van Gogh. My painting with other students at art class was included in a art school exhibition and it was a wonderful experience seeing your own painting beeing shown to visiting guests. I don´t know if you knew this but there are several horror films that includes the subject of art. It could be paintings, sculptures or even wood used to create art. One film i personally recommend is the 2015 psychological horror thriller Deep Dark from director Michael Medaglia. Deep Dark tells the story of non sucessfull art creator Hermann ( Sean McGrath ) who still lives in his mother´s home. He is informed he needs to leave since she will be renting his room out. Hermann manage to rent an apartment that his uncle owns. It is in this apartment where Hermann manage to create his most impressive art work yet, but his dark personal lifestyle will affect him. Deep Dark is a bit of a different film experience and should be appreciated by some people who loves art related stories, give this film a chance on VOD. One of the horror films this year i have been looking forward to see is the art inspired film The Painted, it´s not often we see horror films influenced by art. Is this a film that turned out to be better than i expected or is this a film you should skip at all cost?

Mother Evelyn Elster ( Aleksa Palladino ) is informed that her estranged cousin passed away and Evelyn inherits her fortune and her house as well. Evelyn move here with her husband Adam Elster ( Sean Bridgers ) and their two children. What this family doesn´t know is that in this house there is a unique painting that is cursed.

It might sound difficult to make a horror film that´s inspired by art combined with supernatural horror influences and make this combination work. Thankfully this film manage to find the right balance and especially make the art influences a very important detail connected to the plot. I will get into the art a little bit more later but i have to mention something i appreciate about this film. The fact that the story takes place in the late 1960´s and they actually capture the time period in a realistic way with family life during this time period as well as costume design and 1960´s home design. This is important to me personally that you make an effort to capture the time period in history, that you are trying to tell a story set in the past. The cast of this film does in general a good job with the acting, and i especially appreciate the chemistry between actors Aleksa Palladino ( perhaps mostly known for TV series Boardwalk Empire ) and Sean Bridgers ( you should check him out in the 2011 horror film The Woman, especially the Arrow Video blu ray release ) as the married couple Evelyn and Adam. I feel that these characters capture a realistic portrait of how marriage can be after many years while raising children. Speaking of the children i really appreciate the performance of actress Jessica Ruth Bell. Seeing this young woman break down by fear from the entity works pretty effective. The paintings coming to life is a very cool detail and especially the main painting transforming through the evil entity. The background story to the cursed main painting matches well with the plot. As a horror film i feel that The Painted manage to tell a classic paranormal story while making a positive impact with the art influences. Perhaps some of the horror scenes could have been more scary, but in general it works. Director Sasha Sibley proves that you can still make paranormal horror films with a different approach. The Painted will most likely be appreciated if you watch this film with  an open mindset.

Rating: DDD