A Wounded Fawn

This is a slightly edited version of the review that was published for the London FrightFest 2022 presentation of A Wounded Fawn.

The title itself suggests that like The Killing of a Sacred Deer there’s going to something of the ancient myths about A Wounded Fawn.

An ancient statue of The Erinyes (the mythical Furies of Greek legend) attracts strong bidding at an auction that eventually ends up in the hands of an intermediary who is later slaughtered, the statue added to the killer’s collection.

It’s a solid opening, and scene setter that then settles down to Meredith (Sarah Lind) who after an abusive relationship is starting to go out again and accepted an invitation from Bruce (Josh Ruben) to his home in the country.

A charming man (who has his demons to say the least), Meredith is interested in The Erinyes, that Bruce has. She's familiar with the pieces. It looks authentic though he insists it’s a copy. This sets off a few doubts in her mind, that combined with other quirks, puts Meredith on guard.

The latest from Travis Stevens takes while to set itself up and while good to look at there’s little in the way of tension in the first two thirds of the film. That’s compensated by Lind and Ruben who are very good; Meredith tries to keep herself straight, while Bruce plays psychological games at the same time feeding his own delusions.

It’s later on as the viewer is led towards the myth and fury that the film comes into its own. The closing scenes are fabulous with vivid use of costume, light and ritual. It’s an intriguing film having something of an art installation vibe about it; an artificiality that sits well with many of the themes.

A Wounded Fawn is now available on Shudder.