[yasr_overall_rating]
A “New Media” news coverage team (W.H.I.S.T.L.E.) is stranded near a beleaguered brothel in the middle of nowhere; recovered footage will reveal what happens when they encounter a group of women with a terrifying secret.
“Lilin’s Brood” is part of a multiyear wave of “found footage” films that continues to dominate the horror genre, encompassing everything from small-budget indie pictures to blockbuster studio productions. This story in particular is told from the camera lenses of a pseudo-news organization “W.H.I.S.T.L.E.” (We Hear In Silence The Lies Everywhere) that is examining the disappearance of several missing persons in connection with a strange human trafficking ring located around the Pacific Northwest. Rushing in their RV to break the story, the W.H.I.S.T.L.E. team finds themselves unexpectedly stranded in the middle of nowhere when an accident forces them to decamp amongst the towering pine trees lining a lonely highway.
The arboreal setting immediately piqued my interest, though as an alum of the University of Oregon, I am admittedly biased when it comes to all things green and Northwestern. Nonetheless, the location was a refreshing change from the typical abandoned orphanage or haunted house that have become trite hallmarks in this genre. Not long after having some frightening experiences in the woods, our erstwhile reporters venture towards a brightly lit house, only to find it to be a bizarrely placed and isolated brothel. The brothel, conveniently enough, turns out to be connected with the human trafficking ring and a strange recurring symbol that W.H.I.S.T.L.E. had already been investigating.
Seeing as the acting in “Brood” is a largely forgettable endeavor, it is the spookiness of the locale that is enough to keep the viewer engaged with the film for its duration. Whether it is mediocre writing or the inability of the actors to translate the script into real, human emotions – or some combination thereof – it is difficult to become fully immersed in the world that the filmmakers have tried to construct. The characters are so uninspiring, in fact, that I had trouble remembering their names even as I was watching the film. It is a shame, because a premise such as this put in steadier hands might have produced a truly enjoyable product in a genre that is sorely lacking in those.
“Lilin’s Brood,” ultimately, fails to differentiate itself from a litany of other found footage movies available for consumption. Even when the story adopts a supernatural bent – in which the filmmakers do deserve credit for effectively blending positive attributes of classic slasher flicks with more modern preternatural influences – one feels mostly unfulfilled by the conclusion. The production value of “Brood” shines through in the realistic sets and the subtle unease it evokes by exploiting the characters’ isolation from civilization. There are better films to be found if you have a jonesing for first-person camera horror stories (“Willow’s Creek” is a strong offering in this regard), but there are certainly many worse contributions than “Lilin’s Brood.”
Available on Video On Demand, iTunes & Amazon Prime February 12th
