Written and Directed by Thomas Robert Lee
Starring Catherine Walker, Jessica Reynolds and Hannah Emily Anderson
Running Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport

“What’s your legacy?”

I remember this one time in film school a teacher boldly stating to the class: “So. You want to make movies, huh? This means you are absolutely crazy.”

Making movies of any sort is extremely difficult, no matter the monetary means (if any) one has access to. However, indie flicks carry an especially extra burden. For many, it will take years, if not decades, to go from script to production. When the filmmaker finally gets the opportunity to produce this thing they poured every ounce of themselves into, the chances of falling on their face is high. Most will find their words die on paper, never brought to life. This is why any and all films (yes, even Bad Milo) that manage to make it to the eyes of the people, should be revered as a miracle. I say all of this because in terms of The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw it is by no means a bomb, but it isn’t a home run either.

For his sophomore feature, writer and director Thomas Robert Lee creates an astonishingly impressive eerily gothic tale that is sure to only be the first of many flicks in this filmmaker’s future. However, where the overall look and feel of the film impress and performances shine, I was left struggling to find a meaning within the story.

Audrey Earnshaw (Jessica Reynolds), born in 1956, has lived with her mother Agatha Earnshaw (Catherine Walker) in isolation since her birth. A childbirth that seems to carry much mystery as a father figure has never been present. This detail, along with a barrage of other information, is hurled at the viewer within the opening title sequences. This approach often perplexes me, as it puts quite the strain on the viewer to recall information throughout their watch. Fortunately, in having a screener link to the film, I was able to rewind back to catch something missed. Obviously, in a theater setting, this would be impossible. Instead of laboring one with all the minutiae, why not show the particulars in the course of the film’s run time?

It is learned that mother and daughter belong to a coven of sorts, and that Audrey seems to carry extraordinary powers that are unlike her counterparts. Due to this, Agatha keeps her daughter in hiding, by having her travel concealed in a wooden box that sits atop her carriage bed. Upon heading into the village, Agatha has a heated confrontation with one of the residents, Colm Dwyer (Jared Abrahamson). Unlike the village that has been plagued by famine and misfortune, the Earnshaws have only experienced the opposite. Agatha refuses to share her spoils, so bluntly telling her daughter, “no exceptions” as she does not want to risk someone finding out about Audrey. This causes Colm to feel much hostility towards Agatha leading him to strike her.

Witnessing her mother being struck by the villager does not sit well with Audrey. After being encouraged by one of her fellow occultists, she decides to enact revenge on Colm Dwyer. By escaping the confines of her hidden chamber, she stalks him like prey. Unfortunately for Audrey, she does not go without being seen by a fellow village inhabitant. This later, of course, causes a bit of snag for the teenage witch. After faking an ailment to gain sympathy, she finds herself being invited into Colm’s home to rest. Before departing the Dwyer residence, she leaves the husband and wife with a parting gift, a curse on the only thing that now matters to Colm, his wife.

It’s not hard to recognize the amount of time and effort that went into such a production. In terms of indie budgets, it is no easy feat to create such a meticulous setting, especially one resembling such a distant past. However, this offers some confusion within the storytelling as well. With the film being set in 1973, the characters themselves seem to be living as if it is the 1800s. I am not expecting to be fed every bread crumb along the way or for everything to make perfectly logical sense within a motion picture, but I do like to have some reasoning. The filmmaker never bothers to share the reasoning behind these characters' specific choices. Why one would choose to live without modern conveniences such as electricity, medicines or food.

At one point, Audrey pointedly asks her mother, “What’s your legacy?” Meaning, will it be the fact that she had a child or will it be how people, specifically within the village remember her. Essentially, arguing the point to her mother that her witching abilities should be utilized to teach them a lesson, to instill fear. She goes on to pose the question, “Would you sacrifice for me?”. I could not help but correlate this scene to the writer/director. When a person chooses to embark on a film production, they are, in essence, surrendering themselves to the picture. They are attempting to build their legacy, so to speak. With The Curse of Audrey Ernshaw, there is no question that the writer/director did not give it their all, there is just something missing. A gaping whole in which a stronger, more meaningful plot needed to be inserted. For where the story lacks, creativity shines, which left me wondering what type of flick we would see from Lee if he chose to direct another person’s words.

Available to watch on demand and digitally today.

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