The Wind (2018) [Women in Horror Month]

I’m always looking for good folk horror that I can add to the list with The VVitch or The Ritual, so when I heard that The Wind was about a demonic presence on a desolate prairie I immediately looked forward to it. Years before bringing the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise to theaters, Emma Tammi made her horror directorial debut with this bleak look at settler life in the 1800’s. Written by Teresa Sutherland, The Wind also serves as her first full length feature, releasing five years before her latest release… Lovely, Dark, and Deep. Together, Tammi and Sutherland tell the story of Lizzy Macklin, a plains-woman who’s facing the harsh reality of the western frontier. When her husband, Isaac, leaves for provisions, she finds herself alone to maintain the homestead and fend off any predators.

The isolation becomes sorely missed when a new couple move onto the prairie in a cabin not far from their home. The new neighbors, Gideon and Emma Harper, have moved into the wilderness and abandoned their city lives in the process. Increasing the local population only seems to make life more daunting for Lizzy as she and Emma grow closer. Whether it’s enduring Emma’s rants about how hard it is to adjust from a more active life to isolation, or worrying about how she speaks about Isaac. Distrust grows rampant as Lizzy’s concern over Emma’s apparent lust over Isaac becomes more apparent. With her neighbor seemingly pregnant, and the prairie housing horrors beyond those of the natural order, Lizzy’s grasp on reality seems to slip. Is she succumbing to prairie madness? Does her new neighbor pose a threat to her marriage? And finally… What horror might be pulling the strings behind the metaphorical curtain?

The Wind will stress you out, catch you off guard a time or two, and have you thinking back on every detail long after watching. It’s been a couple of days for me and I’m still asking myself if the paranormal element was ever authentic, or if Lizzy ever had anyone else with her at all. What helps the choose-your-own-adventure narrative from feeling weak is the film’s cast. With a short list of only six actors, and with just one of them on screen for the majority of the story, everyone had to pull their weight. Playing Lizzy is Kit Goldsmith, credited as Caitlin Gerard. Her role as a woman slipping into madness is beautifully executed and pairs well with Julia Goldani Telles, who’s portrayal of Emma Harper is gently antagonistic in a way that makes you unsure if you feel bad for her, or wish ill-will upon her. Ashley Zukerman and Dylan McTee play the husbands, and take on the roles of hands-on frontiersmen as well as any one person can. They’re generic characters who would be right at home in my next Oregon Trail run, and that’s all they needed to be. I won’t mention the other characters, so that a newcomer still has a fresh element to look forward to. I will, however, say that their roles add just the right amount of supernatural spice to this otherwise dismal western.

With a tense premise, and slow pacing equivalent to an early Tarantino flick, The Wind jumps back and forth through the narrative and shows the audience the tragic fate of a specific character before introducing them to us. This style of storytelling is a little jarring when it’s presented as rapidly as The Wind does, but it’s easy to adjust to quickly. Told almost in reverse, The Wind’s approach is similar to the recent mystery series, DTF St. Louis. We know the end result, but the journey that gets us there comes after. Unfortunately, there’s so many elements at play in The Wind that I found myself left with far more questions than answers by the film’s end. Was there an affair? Was there even a paranormal element? Was Lizzie going insane due to prolonged isolation? There’s no doubt in my mind that the story’s ambiguity was intentional. I asked a friend for their take and their answer has stuck with me. He simply said, “Whatever you think happened, happened.” If you watch The Wind and you have a conclusive answer at the end of it, you officially have your own personal take on what you just watched.