Film Review – THE MOOR (2023)

Survivor’s guilt is given a supernatural slant in this evocative psychological horror about child abduction and the subsequent search for resolution.

 Failed podcaster Claire is still haunted by the kidnap and murder of her young friend Danny during a childhood sweets heist in 1996. She is riddled with guilt that such a tragic price was paid to steal a few sherbet dips.

Danny’s dad Bill is grief-stricken to the point of obsession and hunts for his son’s corpse daily on the vast expanse of the North Yorkshire Moors. Frustrated by the immensity of the task he has enlisted the help of a rugged park ranger and a father and daughter psychic team to narrow the odds.

Reconnected and re-traumatised Claire agrees to accompany them on dangerous sorties to increasingly isolated moorland territories. As conditions worsen they provoke a spiritual shitstorm of ancient evil and eyeless sheep.

Emerging director Chris Cronin transitions from acclaimed shorts to full-blown features with this intimate and mature treatment of a triggering topic. He shows a rare talent for restraint as he paints a picture of abject loss as swirling and engulfing as the rolling mist that shrouds the titular moor.

He uses a variety of cinematic mediums to build tension and empathy such as talking heads documentary inserts, kitchen sink naturalism, and even found footage style cam perspectives. What could have been a messy hotchpotch gel seamlessly helped greatly by clever editing and an imposing sound design.

The elemental harshness of the moor is utilised magnificently in both size and spectacle as it manages to feel paradoxically majestic and claustrophobic. A character in its own right, its boggy pitfalls and unpredictable air pressure make for a formidable sandbox of escalating jeopardy. You can almost smell the heathery petrichor and taste the sullen air each time our protagonists venture forth into anxiety-inducing alienation.

The script from Paul Thomas is tight and authentic. It forces us to rubber-neck on emotional pain and stifled suffering as it gathers the complex narrative strands necessary to pull off its ambiguous ending. It too reflects the same harrowing bleakness that drapes over the oppressive moor.

This chilling ethos bleeds into legitimately frightening sequences such as the ‘Five… five… five…’ scene that bagged the Total Film FrightFest Award for best scare. Other highlights include a nightmarish spirit evocation, a shuddery moorland piss, and genuinely shocking animal suicide.

Despite the disturbing imagery and well-constructed set pieces one can’t help but feel a bigger budget would have rendered them epic. As it is, the filmmakers deserve kudos for fostering terror in such an intense manner.

Superbly acted and soberly pitched it remains relatively respectful of the real-life moorland murders that have almost become horror folklore. That being said, it is also an atmospheric fright film that challenges, engages, and alarms.

★★★

Out in UK cinemas on June 14th / UK Digital Release Date: 1st July 2024 / Sophia La Porta, David Edward Robertson, Bernard Hill, Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips / Dir: Chris Cronin/ Bulldog Film Distribution / Cert. TBC