Let Her Out, 2016.
Directed by Cody Callahan.
Starring Alanna LaVierge, Nina Kiri and Adam Christie.
SYNOPSIS:
“Let Her Out follows Helen, a bike courier who suffers a traumatic accident. As she recovers, she begins to experience strange episodic-black outs, hallucinations, and night terrors-that lead her to discover that she has a tumor, a benign growth that is the remnants of a “vanishing twin” absorbed in utero.”
In Let Her Out, a young woman named Helen suffers a traumatic accident. During her recovery, she discovers a benign tumour that is actually her ‘vanishing twin’ that she absorbed in utero. Over time, the tumour manifests itself as the dark and demented version of a stranger. As Helen’s emotional and psychological state begins to deteriorate further and further, she begins to act out in psychotic episodes that are influenced by her evil twin – making her a danger to herself and her best friend, Molly. It’s only a matter of time before the evil side of Helen will take over completely.
Let Her Out is an engaging horror film that places its focus on the main character rather than the scares and thrills. Helen is a well-rounded character who makes you feel the struggle she goes through as she questions her grasp on sanity and reality. Actress Alanna LaVierge succeeded in creating an emotional investment into Helen’s well-being and identity crisis. She made Helen’s struggle believable as she frantically tried to keep everything together. Let Her Out really is a character study in grief, tragedy and identity.
Don’t let that fool you, though. Let Her Out has plenty of scares and gruesome imagery, especially in the third act of the film. The majority of the movie plays as a psychological horror as Helen’s mind slowly gets taken over and she questions more and more of her actions and thoughts. While the third act plays a little more into traditional horror tropes, it still creates an unsettling feeling in the viewer for Helen’s plight.
Director Cody Calahan does a great job creating an eerie atmosphere throughout the film and uses the imagery to his advantage. He and DoP Jeff Maher create stunning visuals, particularly of the city’s landscape at night. One aspect that also left an impression on me was the lighting; Let Her Out’s eeriness is helped in a large way due to the lighting, using a red and blue motif throughout the film. The lighting really adds the exclamation mark to the scene and you can tell just how much work went into the design and look of the production.
Rounding out the cast are Nina Kiri as Molly, Helen’s best friend, and Adam Christie as Ed, Molly’s boyfriend who has an eye for Helen. Kiri and LeVierge play off each other like sisters and it’s easy to buy into their relationship, even when Kiri’s Molly possibly isn’t quite as concerned about Helen’s state of mind as she should be. Christie’s Ed isn’t in much of the film, but he simultaneously brings an amount of levity and extra shadiness to the story as you’re never quite sure what he actually he wants from Helen and Molly.
All in all, Let Her Out tells an interesting story which combines horror and psychological thriller while boasting some great, and gruesome, visuals. LaVierge and Kiri’s dynamic is believable and relatable, but it is LaVierge who steals the movie, developing Helen’s identity crisis in a scary and emotional manner. That and the direction of Calahan and his team make Let Her Out a must-see flick for horror fans.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Ricky Church
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published July 21, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
