Shadows on the Wall

Past Life

dir Simeon Halligan
scr Dean Lines, Ray Bogdanovich, Simeon Halligan
prd Michael Laundon, Rachel Richardson-Jones, Pierre Romain
with Aneurin Barnard, Jeremy Piven, Pixie Lott, Tim McInnerny, Nicholas Farrell, Emma Lau, Karlina Grace-Paseda, Laura Pick, Georgia Maclennan, Mel Lowe, Armand Beasley, Lucinda Sinclair
release UK 20.Mar.26
26/UK 1h36

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While this over-serious psychological horror was clearly made on a low budget, an above-average cast helps to elevate a story that mixes post-traumatic stress with reincarnation. Nicely shot on location, director-cowriter Simeon Halligan draws the audience in with dark intrigue and earnest performances. But there isn't a single offhanded moment to ground the film the real world, so it becomes a procedural thriller that's soapy, silly and watchable.

In Manchester, war reporter Jason (Barnard) is haunted by horrific events in Syria six years ago, and his pregnant wife Claira (Lott) doesn't want him to go back. When they encounter hypnotist Timothy (Piven), Jason is sceptical. But hypnosis unleashes disturbing memories of Jason's previous life as a killer, and Timothy takes him deeper, witnessing a series of unsolved 1980s murders. Brushed off by a police detective (Grace-Paseda), Jason shares evidence with a journalist (Farrell) who covered the cases. Then Jason and Timothy track down Sebastian (McInnerny), who may hold the key to the mystery.

Jason has an odd habit of simply running off whenever things feel uncomfortable, leaving various conversations, as well as his sessions with Timothy, unfinished. His memories are like first-person stalker movie sequences, as he attacks women in their homes. It's understandable that Jason is obsessed with finding answers, and this focus creates melodramatic strain in his marriage. Then he starts having freaky experiences while he's awake, and Claira begins to worry that he's falling apart again.

Barnard brings a tightly contained quality to this man who thinks he's healed from his trauma, but obviously isn't. And this mind-bending situation may push him over the brink. Piven has a superbly chilly presence as the slippery Timothy, who quickly seizes the opportunity to write a book about Jason's case, hoping to finally prove his theory. At one point, Jason actually blurts out to Timothy, "I'm a journalist, not a lab rat!" Lott does what she can with the underwritten Claira.

There isn't much depth in the screenplay, which explains attitudes and situations in very simplistic ways. Even the various twists and turns of the plot, including a couple of big revelations, emerge in startlingly blunt ways. And things escalate in nutty, but not completely unexpected, directions in the final act. There are some solid cheap thrills along the way, but it's never more than a po-faced guilty pleasure.

themes, language, violence 16.Mar.26

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