Movies
A24’s ‘Lamb’ Called “Batshit Crazy” in First Reactions Out of Cannes
Bloody Disgusting has had our eyes on Valdimar Jóhannsson’s supernatural drama Lamb for quite some time now and even shared a first-look at Prometheus star Noomi Rapace in the film last year.
The trailer made its way online last week with news that A24 had acquired the Biblical drama that tells the story of a childless couple in Iceland, María (Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason), who find a newborn who is half human, half sheep on Christmas Eve.
Lamb held its World Premiere at the ongoing Cannes festival where it was allegedly met with a standing ovation.
First reactions have begun trickling out of the massive event with a major review hitting Indiewire earlier this morning from writer Eric Kohn.
Kohn calls the premise “batshit crazy,” further adding: “Lamb takes a low-key minimalist approach to its premise that invites a certain shock-and-awe reaction before doubling back to give it purpose.”
He continues: “Lamb rewards viewers who prefer to play the waiting game.”
For the Bloody Disgusting readers who love A24’s output, Kohn notes that “Jóhannsson has been schooled in the eloquent atmospheric horror of The Witch and Hereditary to such a precise degree that Lamb may as well exist as a spin-off.”
You can read his entire positive review here.
Rafael Motamayor, who oft writes for Bloody Disgusting, tweets that Lamb is “simultaneously weird and not weird enough,” while noting Rapace should be a strong contender for Palm Dog.
The Playlist‘s Gregory Ellwood tweets that Lamb is ultimately a disappointment, also celebrating Rapace’s performance.
“Absolutely adored this film,” Josie Marie writes on Twitter, adding: “It’s unpredictable while feeling familiar all at once. Great performances with an excellent execution of pacing and suspense.”
Writer Jason Gorber also shares his thoughts: “Another dark family fable from Iceland, with gorgeous setting and quiet but surreal narrative that has surprises well worth keeping hidden. Exactly the kind of cold yet inviting tale you wish to discover on your own as it unfolds, be patient and be awarded.”
From another tweet (@paulinemallet_): “The opening scene is one of the most beautiful I have seen. Noomi Rapace is masterful.”
Watch for more reviews and hopefully some release news in the coming months. For now, here’s the trailer.
The trailer for Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol raised a lot of eyebrows when it dropped earlier this week. While plenty of folks initially dismissed Ebenezer as a derivative project meant to cash in on the recent wave of unnecessary prequels that expand the backstory of beloved characters (such as 2023’s Wonka), Charles Dickens’ original novel already made a point of exploring Ebenezer Scrooge’s origins in detail – meaning that this new film is likely just a particularly faithful adaptation of the source material under a different name.
Couple that with the fact that the movie is being helmed by a genuine horror auteur and I think it’s safe to say that the latest iteration of the first modern ghost story is in good hands.
That being said, one detail that immediately jumped out at me during the brief teaser (other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Johnny Depp’s iconic bedroom death scene from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) is the fact that many of Ebenezer’s ghosts appear to have been directly lifted from the iconic John Leech illustrations that accompanied the first edition of Dickens’ novel.
Here are a couple of stills from the trailer compared to the original artwork:
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Phantoms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Ebenezer’
Marley’s Ghost in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
Mainly working with old-school wood and steel engravings that would later be transferred to print, Leech was instrumental in crafting the iconic look of history’s most influential phantoms – especially since Dickens is said to have been deeply involved with the creation of these so-called “comic illustrations.”
And since the novel is commonly said to have popularized spiritualism in Victorian England, much of the ghostly iconography that we still see in genre media to this very day (including some of Ti West’s previous films) can be traced back to the author’s partnership with Leech.
Ebenezer won’t be the first A Christmas Carol adaptation to borrow heavily from these designs, but I can appreciate how Ti West is incorporating an important part of horror history into his latest film.
Ebenezer will be available in theaters starting November 13.
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