It’s always impressive when a film nails its mood and tone right off the top. The Strings, the second feature film from collaborative pair Ryan Glover (direction) and Krista Dzialoszynski (screenplay), opens with a man standing silently on a frozen beach, surrounded by amputated tree trunks organized in near ritualistic formation. As Glover slowly pans the camera 180, the man silently wanders back into frame, wading waist deep into the frozen winter ocean waters, his arms outstretched like a crucifixion. It’s chilly and unsettling, two words that perfectly describe the rest of the film.
The identity of this man, and his rationale for dying by suicide in the waters off Prince Edward Island (aka the east coast of Canada), will be revealed later as a kind of urban legend. According to locals, it’s the only interesting story worth mentioning on the island (the reality is that PEI empties out in the winter when the tourist appetite for the island’s famed red dirt and Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables dries up).
The film begins when musician Catherine (Teagan Johnston) ventures into this cold, inhospitable environment. She’s travelled from Ontario (several provinces away) to lick her wounds following a break-up with ex Derek (heard, but never seen) and to work on her new album. She’s taken up residence in her Aunt’s cottage, turning the living room into an ad hoc studio where she spends her afternoons when she’s not going for walks to the beach or staring out the window.
Sometimes Catherine fields calls from her agent (also unseen), who asks for updates on the music or books her empty gigs to play or sets up phone interviews with journalists who invade her privacy, but the vast majority of the time she’s alone.
The exception is the occasional Zoom calls Catherine has with friend Anita (April Aliermo) and, more significantly, the new relationship that Catherine establishes with local photographer Grace (Jenna Schaefer). Catherine confides to Anita that things with Grace began following an earlier flirty encounter that Catherine failed to act on; her newly single status allows a casual romance to blossom when Grace takes her on a photoshoot at the local haunted house.
Then the shadowy figure of a man seems to follow Catherine home and things begin to get spooky.
The Strings is a small, but confident film that lives and breathes in the little moments. Glover and Dzialoszynski have crafted an intimate film that is as much about Catherine working through her issues (her creative roadblocks and her need for isolation) as it is about the shadowy figure of a man who begins stalking her. Considering that this is a film about the artistic process, Catherine’s music is front and center, which is welcome considering Johnston’s real life profession as the artist Little Coyote (think indie alt-pop with a lovely combination of piano, vocals and synth).
It should be acknowledged that The Strings is less interested in scares than its character study of a woman working through her baggage, so the scary bits – effective as they are – are sporadic. Patient horror fans, however, will be rewarded with several spine-tingling set pieces which, although familiar, prove surprisingly effective.
There’s something incredibly harrowing about the way the shadow keeps inching closer and closer to Catherine. Glover very cleverly uses framing to spike the adrenaline, ranging from slow rotating pans that reveal the malignant presence closer than before, or simply holding on a shot to confirm its presence behind Catherine once she steps away.
In one memorable long take, the camera slowly tracks back and forth between Catherine in the kitchen and the empty hallway leading to the bedroom, deliciously ramping up anticipation that something is afoot. The film’s use of empty space is reminiscent of this year’s The Invisible Man: we know that *something* is nearby and it’s just a matter of time before it shows up.
Ironically the shadow is often revealed in the exact location that we expect, but Glover’s direction and Adrian Ellis’ score, which employs operatic choir music, ensures that foreknowledge never dampens its impact. Inevitably these encounters escalate in proximity and threat, eventually leading to a shocking and memorable climax, though some will find the lack of concrete answers or proper resolution unsatisfying.
For audiences willing to embark on an introspective character study with unsettling moments, however, The Strings is compelling and immersive. As the weather begins to turn, it’s the perfect film to send a chill up your spine.
The Strings is playing as part of this year’s virtual Salem Horror Fest.
