A Wounded Fawn (2022).
A Wounded Fawn starts out interestingly enough - after a high class art auction, a man follows a female buyer home and offers to buy it at an enormous price. She lets him in, the promise of dollar bills dancing in her eyes. But one glass of wine later, she’s dead, thanks to a brutal set of mechanical claws that the man wears on his hands. He sees a being shrouded in red light that demands the blood of others, even when he doesn’t necessarily want to spill said blood. Alas, he is powerless.
The film then switches to a woman named Meredith, played by Sarah Lind. She works at an art gallery and is excited for her first getaway with her new flame, Bruce. She’s newly divorced, looking to get laid and lay waste to the abusive relationship from her past. He shows up to pick her up, and predictably, it’s the man…the killer…from before, played by Josh Ruben. On the drive up, there are some warning signs, but Meredith powers through, probably chocking it up to nerves and the awkwardness of a budding relationship. They head up to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, ready for good wine, good food, and probably some sex. It’s this point where horror film fans know where things are going. It’s going to be a film where there’s no cell phone coverage, small hints are dropped, eventually she sees him for what he is in the last act, there’s an escape attempt, a chase, and finally, she comes out victorious as the final girl. I’m happy to say that none of that happens.
About halfway in, something happens that’s truly shocking, something I did not expect, and then the film turns into a wild fever dream that needs to be seen to be believed. It goes completely off the rails, and the film almost becomes a loose adaptation of the Persona video game series. Persona is a game in which every person has a Persona - kind of a power filled demon - that lives in our unconscious world, and the good Personas can defeat the bad Personas to manipulate their conscience in the real world. It’s truly unique, even if much of it makes no sense. At one point, Bruce offers up his explanation of why he does what he does and his inability to change, and although you won’t empathize with him, you understand it. This is the deconstruction of the serial killer, the manifestation of his need to kill. You’ll realize that both he and Meredith are wounded fawns. To say much more would rob you of the experience I had with it if you’re going to see it.
The two main actors are really good. Josh Ruben as the serial killer is a little bit too creepy at the beginning for my taste, I think he could have played the character with a bit more charm before things go completely sideways, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of his performance. Sarah Lind is great as the skeptical female lead, but I didn’t love her initial decision to go away with this guy to a secluded cabin this quickly into their relationship. Considering how the first time we see her, she’s in therapy because of this relationship that seemingly just ended, it’s tough to imagine someone this guarded would jump at this opportunity. I’d also argue that her friends at the museum are also to blame, as they don’t do anything to protect her, but rather enable her under the guise of ‘getting laid’. It’s got a very “12th grade” feel to the set up. The good news is that once she’s in this dumb situation, she makes smart choices, even hitting the eject button when she starts to feel too uncomfortable.
It’s tough to recommend this whole-heartedly just because of how weird it is, but it’s taking a big swing. While the film isn’t perfect - the CGi is definitely questionable and the narrative in the second half of the film is essentially incoherent, it’s certainly interesting. If you’re on the fence after the description I’ve given you, it’s probably safe to skip this one, but if you’re looking for some mind-bending oddities, give it a shot. And my final parting shot will be talking about this film’s final parting shot - it features one of the weirdest, most uncomfortable one-take scenes I’ve seen in a long time that plays out over the entire credit sequence.
