Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
A news article of the film Eerie had popped up on my feed with the headline ‘This Netflix horror is making people sleep with their lights on”.
I didn’t read it but just saw what the film was about and decided to watch it with a friend.
Set in a girls residential catholic school, during the pre-internet era, Eerie gets the setting damn right for a horror film. Full scores to the makers for that.
Brought me memories from back when I studied in a boarding school – every second senior had a scary tale to tell about some or the other corner.
The plot in Eerie focuses primarily on a guidance counselor who offers an all patient ear to the young girls and is trying to uncover a student suicide on the sides. She can see ghosts, even speak to them. In fact, she can speak to the dead student herself, but the girl offers her very little clues.
On the surface, it’s hinted that one of the strict nuns that runs the show in the school may have had a hand in the death. There is a gnawing sense that the girl may have experienced some terrible abuse leading to the untimely demise.
The film is shot beautifully. The background score is surprisingly subtle but the unavoidable jump scares that take the plot forward are in place. However, there were only two moments in the film that were really scary.
The second part get draggy and slow. As a viewer, at least I started to run out of patience. There were moments were I was even laughing.
SPOILER AHEAD
“Have you ever seen a film where the ghost is afraid of something? What the hell is going on?” I laughed and asked a friend who was watching it with me.
She started laughing too.
Like seriously. The guidance counselor sees a ghost of another girl who mysteriously dies and tries to get some clues from her, but the ghost seems to be scared of something.
That’s it, that plot twist is funny as hell! The ghost is also scared of probably another ghost.
In the end, the truth of the murder and the ghosts is solved, but it’s not moving enough. It’s the victim who is demonised, but with not enough back story to feel too much. And the climax is predictable. At least I was able to predict it. Maybe that’s because I watch too many films.
This film is definitely not making me sleep with the lights on. I heard scarier stories in my boarding school.
I would give Eerie a 6/10.