The Horror Show
Lord of Tears
by Lawrie Brewster
When I watch or read something horror related, I’m always looking for something that just leaves me completely unsettled. Honestly, I haven’t seen a movie that made my heart beat so strongly I could feel it in my chest in a long time. I’ve turned to sources like “creepypasta” for that feeling. I don’t know why but they are the only stories that truly creep me out. One such creepypasta that left me unnerved was Slender Man. Together Slender Man and the Owlman cryptid served as inspiration for Lord of Tears’ own Owl Man. So naturally, I was so excited when I saw this trailer. I was convinced this movie would give me that bone chilling feeling I’ve been searching for.
James Findlay is a teacher haunted by nightmares of a being called the Owl Man. He has also inherited his family’s property after his mother’s death. He can’t remember much about his time there as a kid and his past with the Owl Man. Thusly, he decides to venture home and learn the truth behind his nightmares. There he meets a neighbor Eve Turner, she comes off as kind and compassionate but also mysterious. James falls for her but she plays hot and cold with him. Meanwhile, James’ friend, Allen Milton, is having trouble dealing with his dying father. It becomes apparent very quickly that he will do anything to save his dad. James must confront the Owl Man and learn the secrets his parents hid from him to find peace.
I have a tendency to get excited about movies that I know nothing about. This has proved time and time again a terrible idea. Lord of Tears’ brilliant viral marketing techniques and the mass Internet momentum this film has gained didn’t help either. I guess my main issue with this movie was that it delivered something entirely different than what expected. I heard that this movie was inspired by Lovecraftian horror, which usually means cosmic horror or fear of the unknown. That really didn’t seem to be the case. The movie at its core is a supernatural ghost story. That’s not what I paid watch. I paid to see a creepy Owl Man subtly terrorizing one man for 100 minutes. Instead, I get a man trying to free the spirit of a lost soul for the same amount of time.
I didn’t get as much Owl Man as I felt like I deserved. He was the main selling point of the movie and rarely appears in it. It was a great creepy costume design but it was a shame that it got very little screen time. His overall design is awesome, the Slender Man influence is obvious but with a Victorian slant. His back-story also leaves a lot to be desired. I felt like the Owl Man would be an extra-dimensional creature beyond the comprehension of man or something. Now, I don’t want to reveal what he actually was for fear of spoiling the movie but I was disappointed.
This movie relies on atmosphere and story telling to build suspense. It’s a refreshing take from the pure action and jump scare tactics most movies use now. I praise this; I hate big studio horror films for this very reason. I normally love a good slow burn movie that takes the time to build eerie background noises and an equally creepy score for building mood. It also had a uniquely compelling story. Horror movies usually have characters, settings, and other elements that could be swapped out and the plot wouldn’t change. Lord of Tears is unique; if any element were removed you would have a completely different film. Every single detail is necessary to the plot. Granted, I didn’t really like the story. I’m not into ghost tales; it had some decent twists but nothing special. Sadly, this movie didn’t give me the chills that I was yearning for either. I never really felt scared or unsettled at any time. There were some surreal dream-like sequences that weren’t really unnerving so much as they were jarring. One more strike against this movie.
I rented this from Distrify a few months ago for the price of eight dollars. However, it no longer appears to be available for rent. So, the only way to obtain this movie is to purchase it. I, like most horror fans, prefer having a physical movie to add to our collection, rather than relying on VOD services. However, thirty-six USD including international shipping is a gamble for a movie that doesn’t have a wide distribution. That was a risk I’m glad I didn’t take. I just hate being misled into watching a movie. If you want to purchase this movie now knowing that this is a ghost story and the Owl Man rarely appears in it, then go for it. If that were made clear to me from the beginning maybe I would have enjoyed it more. For now it looks like I’ll be sticking to the creepypasta wiki and searching for that soul wrenching fear I’m looking for.
Billy Wayne Martin, HMS
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