Secluded in a desolate forest, a broken family is observed by Sator, a supernatural entity who is attempting to claim them.
Jordan Graham’s solo outing features an incredible amount of attention and energy put into such a slow-moving drama. Fans of the A24-christened horror style will appreciate “Sator” for its beautiful cinematography, dream-like storytelling, sparse plotting, and twisted ending. The movie simmers at a steady pace from the get-go encouraging the audience to really take their time with the whole affair. Each lethargic element adds up to a hypnotic film that feels meditative, dreamy, and finally shocking.
Gabriel Nicholson plays Adam, a late-twenties woodsman, living all alone in the wilderness but for his dog. Adam’s brother Pete (Michael Daniels) comes to visit him, inquiring about his wellbeing. Through a series of visits, we understand this isolates survivalist is attempting to prevent a demon from possessing his body as it possessed his mother and grandmother before him. Alone in the woods, Adam begins to see horned creatures in animal skin attempting to communicate.
“Sator” paces out in a significantly long way. The film draws out scenes, making single takes last minutes. It’s sparse on dialogue leaving us to parse out the story as it continues. Nicholson manages some nuance despite having a role relegated simply to: anxious glares. His presence mystifies us while only his brother and, later, sister explain what’s going on.
“Sator” works best on a purely visual scale. I mean it when I say not a single frame is wasted. The film shoots lush California woods in a wintry frame evoking dusty Ansel Adams photos. Black and white letterbox framed scenes counter the gorgeous woodlands photography in a cramped quarters way. Graham even utilizes home video footage for little verité segments detailing the intimate nature of this possession. Personally, I would kill to have some of this movie framed up on my wall. The woods never looked so forbidding or so lonely.
While the themes of inherited illness feel transparent, by the end, it takes the movie quite some time to warm up to it. “Sator” skirts the line of detracting from its own quality by offering us little more than mystery throughout its first half. Thankfully the last twenty minutes satisfy the need for blood, for horror present throughout the film. All this brooding finally amounts to something. Those final twenty minutes continue to play out at their mesmeric pace, but with enough tension to keep us held.
“Sator” is a mesmeric descent into madness, quite literally. It’s muted in every way possible: little cuts, little sound design, simple visuals, easy costuming, and location. It’s a bone-tight budget but it’s made so beautifully it earns its place among other folk horror films. Fans of A24 horror like “It Comes at Night” and “The Witch” will appreciate the slow burn beauty of the film.
Available on VOD and Digital February 9th
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