★ FILM LOG ★

This feels very A Christmas Carol, with the vice warned against being drink instead of greed. I expected a standard ghost story based on the atmosphere created at the beginning, but it it not like that at all.

The manner in which multiple threads are tied together as the plot progresses feels quite sophisticared for the time, and subverts expectations masterfully. The direction and cinematography also contribute a lot to the tone of the film, with double exposure ghost effect even now provides a sensible spookiness rather than reading as kitschy. A standout scene is when Anna attempts to escape with her children, while David is locked in the kitchen, the cuts between her fumbling to dress her daughter and him violently breaking the door down with an axe creating an awful, slasher-worthy tension. I almost want to scream at Anna to just run!

I do not feel David deserves absolution or redemption, but here it is so bleak it does not feel entirely unearned. He may have learned the error of his ways, but will continue to suffer to consequences of his actions. Sister Edit is still dead. So to will his fmaily and himself be sooner rather than later because he exposed them all to consumption. Perhaps David will last until the following New Year's Eve.

At times, the film feels a little bit preachy, overly on the nose with Georges stating oughtright the message he hopes the audience will take away. Still, it is a nice message: "Lord, please let my soul come to maturity before it is reaped."