Went Up The Hill: Movie Review

Cast: Vicky Krieps, Dacre Montgomery, Sarah Peirse
Director: Samuel Van Grinsven

The mournful atmosphere and haunting story of Went Up The Hill mark it out as a ghost story rather than a jumpscare based horror (even if one's deployed at the end).

Stranger Things' Dacre Montgomery plays Jack, a seeming interloper who shows at the funeral of Jill's wife. Claiming he was invited by Jill (Vicky Krieps) but with her denying it, he makes an uneasy admission of family and one which sees him compelled to stay with Jill to mourn.

But Jack has other reasons to stay on (ones which are best left unspoiled) - however, events in the house soon take am otherworldly turn...

Essentially a play writ larger for the screen this two-hander between Montgomery and Krieps is a haunting elegance tale that deftly mixes atmosphere with unease. 

But it's kept to a minimum (other than a more slightly generic denouement) as director Van Grinsven unspools a tale of loss, loss of identity and the pain of grief. Yet it's in the simpler moments that Went Up The Hill gains some heft.

A deft line about Death not providing an escape from pain is devastating to say the least and subtle performance shifts from both actors make a marked and clever change in proceedings. Director Van Grinsven makes use of space to bring a third character into proceedings. Tall angular shots within the home suggest the characters size in the cosmic scene of things and mist-soaked mountains provide the requisite icy chill and bleakness.

There will be some for whom Went Up The Hill doesn't work. Its occasionally glacial pace will frustrate others and one scene devolves too closely into performance art. 

But for those willing to succumb to its rhythms, Went Up The Hill is a moodily evocative piece of cinema blessed by two impressive leads and one singular tragedy the ripples of which live on forever.