Review: Horrorfest 10 – THE REEDS

The Norfolk Broads is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English countryside but it becomes the setting for a deadly nightmare in the chilling new British thriller THE REEDS. Equal parts horror movie, ghost story, and ‘there’s something out there!’ thriller, THE REEDS harkens back to the days when horror filmmaking was straightforward. The suspense is strong, the violence very personal and painful, and the film is one very black, black voyage.

THE REEDS follows three twentyish couples aboard the Corsair Star, a small cruise boated rented from the salty Mr. Croker, the local marina operator. The boating party loses its bearings and cuts through the vast reedy tidewater in search of the main channel when suddenly the boat runs aground on a large metal cage holding a human skeleton, impaling one of the passengers. Every attempt to save themselves and find a way out fails, as one by one the friends are terrorized by a group of mysterious teenagers and shot at by a hooded figure with a rifle. The group soon discovers there is no escape from the haunted waterway, a place of continuous return and that there is a curse on all who take a journey on the Corsair Star.

While THE REEDS takes its time to crank into gear, the lengthy opening sequences establish the protagonists and their relationships. The writing and acting, while not memorable, is good enough to get the job done. By concentrating on the charms and realism of his characters and their relationships with each other, the crucial turn toward mortal danger means a great deal more to the viewer. Director Nick Cohen and writer Chris Baker have another objective in mind – the slow build-up of tension. We know something bad is going to happen; so the longer it takes, the more primed we are for it. Nicely photographed, THE REEDS holds interest from its snappy prologue all the way to the twisty climax. Initially the viewer is led to believe, via ominous POV shots, that there’s a creature running loose in the Reeds, but it’s ultimately a ghost story that emerges. The reeds themselves seem to sprout endlessly from everywhere and make for an unforgiving setting. THE REEDS doesn’t pander to its audience with constant scares or snazzy effects, just effectively tells a simple horror story. It does not throw in a lot of distracting themes, but stays focused on the nature and existence of evil. THE REEDS is a supremely well-made gut-chiller that unsettles as much as it thrills. It puts to shame a whole lot of genre works that cost ten times as much to make, but don’t even have half the filmmaking prowess and brutal inspiration behind them.