by Martin Unsworth
A young girl, Laurin (Dóra Szinetár) has nightmarish dreams of a lurking stranger while local children are being abducted and killed in Robart Sigl’s hauntingly beautiful horror drama.
This German/Hungarian treat is set at the turn of the century and follows Laurin, who’s in her early adolescence. When her mother is killed, her father, a sailor, returns to the sea. A new schoolteacher, Mr Van Rees (Károly Eperjes) starts in her class, and Laurin appears to have a crush, but he is more interested in her bullied friend Stefan (Barnabás Tóth). The young lad will soon meet a grisly fate, however.
Sigl’s film is a stunning, occasionally surreal effort that touches on some troubling issues but is never less than enthralling. The narrative meanders through time shifts and fantastical dreams and is less on-the-nose than the likes of the equally brilliant Valerie and her Week of Wonders (1970) when it comes to the coming-of-age aspects. The Mario Bava-esque visuals and colour palate cinematographer Nyika Jancsó uses is pleasingly eerie, and there’s a strong ethereal feel. It looks as though it could have been filmed in the seventies, but – as the sagely Jonathan Rigby points out in one of the extras – the score has a very eighties, synth-heavy feel. This isn’t jarring, though. Instead, it adds to the film’s resonance.
The horror comes not from jump scares and gore but a brooding, choking atmosphere that builds to an impressively shocking climax. Laurin is a low-key classic that rewards those willing to seek it out. Second Run’s Blu-ray presents the film well, with some informative extras and a beautiful transfer.
