The Latcher
Accelerator Lab alum James Hunter makes his feature debut with this psychological thriller about motherhood and the monstrous clutches of grief.
American midwife Alice lives in an isolated house in rural Australia. Worn out by her job and wearied by an unspoken tragedy, she experiences waking nightmares and starts sensing an eerie presence creeping in from the shadowy bushland. As desolation overwhelms her, and with the threat inching closer, her only refuge is the very home where she lost everything. Can she vanquish her demons before they corrode what’s left of her sense of self?
Inspired by horror classics Rosemary’s Baby and Don’t Look Now as well as fairytales and folklore, this startling, thematically complex feature debut uses atmosphere and symbolism to explore the repercussions of loss, silence and solitude. Informed by interviews with bereavement midwives and a mother who had lost her baby, director James Hunter (Nest, MIFF 2021) prioritised visual and narrative restraint to create “an uncanny feeling of unease”; this laid the foundations for Lucy Lovegrove’s affecting lead performance, which brims with polished physicality and nuanced interiority. Gripping and full of gravitas, The Latcher portrays one woman’s unravelling and her eventual journey towards healing.
Director James Hunter and lead cast member Lucy Lovegrove are guests of the festival and will be in attendance at both sessions of the film.
Tickets
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