VOD of the Dead - THINE EARS SHALL BLEED (2024)
Dads get a bad rap in a lot of horror movies. One can see why so many films in the genre defer to this trope, and you don’t have to look far in the news to find stories of how domineering men can wreak havoc on the lives of their families. Still, not all Dads suck, and in horror, even the ones trying to do good can sometimes end up being the sacrificial lamb to the slaughter. Many of the genre’s best films also play with the notion of disrupting domesticity by way of parents becoming possessed. It further harkens to what we continually see play out in homes with abused children and the impact that abusive parents have on the long-term health of their children. Combining the idea of fathers gone bad with evil forces taking over is not just a part of the horror lexicon, it’s practically a sub-genre. Entering this niche is the Western-themed Thine Ears Shall Bleed, directed by Ben Bigelow and released on VOD in the UK on 15 July 2024 from Miracle Media. Is this domestic disturbance shockingly good or is it to be put out to pasture?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
In 1860s America, a minister's family hears an unexplained noise from the woods during their wagon journey. Mistaking it for divine presence, they worship it until realizing its sinister nature.
HOW IS IT?
“Thine Ears Shall Bleed” (“TESB” for short) offers up an interesting premise; what would happen if you heard a supposedly divine voice? It is not the first, and likely won’t be the last film to tackle this topic of divine auditory possession, but it is one of the rarer forms of deity-related interventions on film. The twist here is that this is all occurring in the pioneering 1800s North America where survival was not guaranteed, especially for a family of religious folks on a mission for an organ to grow their congregation. Where “TESB” struggles is delivering something we haven’t seen before and something that can drive tension more than just loud noises and zealot-like fanaticism.
“TESB” takes premises perfected by films such as The Amityville Horror and The Shining and simply changes the time and place. The setup is interesting, a reverend seeking the seemingly silver bullet solution of an organ so his musically inclined daughter can spread their gospel through song. The reverend (Andrew Hovelson) is not just obsessed with the collection of said organ but gets even more involved when one night he is lured to a loud noise he believes to be the voice of capital God themself. This sets off your typical series of events as we see the good reverend slowly descend into lunacy while his family around him, and a curiously convenient surprise Scientist, observe his downfall. If you think you’ve heard this story before, you have. The change in scenery is more of a limitation given the simplicity of the story, and it isn’t used much to add to the film aside from just differentiating the time and place. When it comes to capturing periods, authenticity has to go beyond changing some of the script to sound like an older dialect of English. Some of this could be on account of the independent production and small shooting location, but again, very little is used that we haven’t seen before to make “TESB” stand out amongst the numerous similarly–-plotted films. Films such as Ravenous are perhaps a good reference point for how to embrace the time authentically as a means to differentiate.
All of this said, the performances are for the most part quite good. The son (Duke Houston) and daughter (Lea Zawada) both deliver captivating performances as the blind boy blessed with sight and the daughter who is falling head over heels for the mysterious scientist who appears amongst them whilst stranded. That scientist (Lucas Near-Verbrugghe) is one of the most interesting, albeit cliché characters in the mix. The reverend’s performance picks up near the very end, but does leave something to be desired before that to elicit something more dangerous and menacing. Once again, the surprises in store with these folks are almost all easy tells early on which hurts the element of surprise. The last act does pick up the pacing quite a bit, but it all feels too little too late in a movie that runs at 101 minutes. One missed opportunity was to not pull away from the more intense and gruesome scenes. Even if budgets are restricted, those moments of brutality in more benign scripts can make all the difference between likable and unmemorable. And to be clear, there is nothing inherently bad about “TESB”, but there is also nothing all that special about it either.
LAST RITES
Those who are really into boilerplate supernatural movies and have a fetish for the 1800s will get a lot out of “TESB”, for everyone else you’re likely to leave feeling underwhelmed.
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
Written By
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Where can you watch it?
Say your prayers for Thine Ears Shall Bleed, a chillingly haunting new horror that sees a minister and his family experience unholy terror in the wilds of the American West. This fearsome feature from director Ben Bigelow hits UK digital platforms on 15 July, thanks to Miracle Media.
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