Still traumatised after a vicious attack upon her person, Lizzy (Sex Education star Patricia Allison) takes on a job at a remote country house, acting as housekeeper and carer for a grieving married couple. As Alex (Rupert Young) heads off on a business trip, Lizzy is left all alone with his wife, the shell-shocked Amy (Jeany Spark). Caught up in the machinations of a family who clearly have something awful planned (get out, Lizzy!) she soon comes to realise that there’s more going on here than a mere wine mom gone wild.
Directed by David Luke Rees from a screenplay co-written by Madelaine Isaac, By The Throat is a tense work of psychological horror, drawing on elements of folk horror in its genre flourishes. Between the obvious portents of terror to come (pagan totems under the bed? Seriously – just get out!) and Lizzie’s harrowing flashbacks to her assault, it turns the charming Cummings household into a claustrophobic nightmare. Intimate, up-close-and-personal cinematography by Aaron Adrian Rogers heightens the unsettling atmosphere while disguising the budgetary limitations – even if it can be a bit too dark sometimes.
Supporting performances are a little stiff, but leading woman Allison gives a compelling portrait of polite awkwardness and anxiety in the face of white middle-class creepiness. If its story lacks originality, Rees and Isaac are mostly successful in keeping their audience guessing as to what the Cummings are hiding – if they’re hiding anything at all. Is Lizzy really about to fall victim to some kind of monstrous ritual, or is might she be tormented by demons from her own past made real? That’s all spoiled by an underwhelming, too busy finale, but the film’s ominous vibes were nice while they lasted.
Neither mystery nor style are quite strong enough for a complete stranglehold on the senses, but By The Throat is a quietly unnerving work of weird white people horror.
BY THE THROAT premiered at FrightFest Glasgow on March 7th, 2025.
