The Horror genre has been a part of the cinematic experience since the beginning. Many of the most popular (and best-regarded) films of the class came out of the silent era. Like all the other genres, there are plenty of sub-classes. One that has more recently become a sub-genre of interest is that of the Supernatural. We could probably credit a great portion of that intrigue to “The Sixth Sense,” almost 20 years ago from this date. However, a lot has changed since then, as well.

It is not uncommon for many of these Supernatural movies to take place in a former generation of time, whether it be in America or somewhere else. “The Wind” is no different, entering the time of westward expansion, into the Great Plains of the Midwest. Understandably so, this was mainly inhabited by farmers, though a handful of professions often overlapped. Here, Lizzy Macklin, played by Caitlin Gerard (“Insidious: The Last Key”), and her husband, Isaac Macklin, played by Ashley Zukerman (“Succession”), have built a new life for themselves, but there is a problem: the suspicion of evil spirits, which all seem to have names, according to a small pamphlet, supposedly distributed by a traveling minister. Why do they exist out in the fields, but not in the cities? Who knows? It has been said or suggested that the less we know about a scary or frightening dilemma, the more affective it can be.

I think it is worth noting that many of the primary filmmakers involved in this project are women, including Emma Tammi, as the Director, and Teresa Sutherland, as the Screenwriter. I say this because there are certain distinctions made, throughout, which might suggest that the women in this movie possess a certain strength that the men do not. Nothing is outright implied, though. I am only speculating.

Emma Harper, played by Julia Goldani Telles (“Slender Man”), and her husband, Gideon Harper, played by Dylan McTee, equal the rest of the cast, aside from one other character, who comes in to play only at the end of the film. They are described as being odd, but seem to be good neighbors in an otherwise empty landscape, for the Macklins.

From the start, this is a quiet movie. Although there is dialogue and music, the sounds of nature, particularly the wind, take precedence. There are plenty of suitable, graphic images, including some seemingly symbolic displays, though, again, nothing is confirmed right now, on my end. I could only wonder what exactly was bothering the character of Lizzy, though it really just appeared to be related to the loss of her connection with neighbor and friend, Emma, who also haunts her as she goes about her day, while her husband is away on a trip.

Numerous flashbacks put the pieces of the story together, though, at first, it can be tricky to detect when and where the flashbacks occur. I would recommend paying attention to what Lizzy is wearing. I think the moviemakers made a conscious decision to separate the time line with clothing colors. As the story progresses, it becomes more clear what happened to Emma, but there is still some ambiguity, even with that. You begin to wonder what was real and what was imagined and then you wonder who is the character to trust. Since we are mostly exposed to Lizzy, we mainly see things from her point-of-view, but what about Isaac? Did he really do what we are meant to believe he did with Emma or was Lizzy being misled by Emma and being deceived by an evil spirit, whose only goal was to destroy everyone’s relationships to each other?

“The Wind” has its good points. The apparent symbolism and moments of foreshadowing are pretty effective and serve to tell the story well. What I am seeing, now, is that this is a difficult film to talk about or discuss. It is not because the movie is all that bad, but it has something to do with how the story is told. When I separate the horrific images and moments, which I sometimes found as humorous as I did scary, there really was not much going on. The flashbacks, as I previously said, were confusing, at times, and the extended moments of silence and ambience dragged, as well. I doubt if I will remember this movie beyond the time I watch my next film for review. Plenty of people are fans of this genre, but without any real originality, “The Wind” is largely forgettable.

Director: Emma Tammi
Screenwriter: Teresa Sutherland
Cast: Caitlin Gerard, Ashley Zukerman, Julia Goldani Telles, Dylan McTee and Miles Anderson as The Reverend
Production: Divide/Conquer and Soapbox Films
Distributor: IFC Midnight
Release: September 10th, 2018 (TIFF) and April 5th, 2019 (US)