Where's Rose? (2021)

 

Writer/Director John Mathis' Where's Rose? is a nice little slow burn horror film, with some great cinematography from Eric Gesualdo and a very strong cast.  Though the script stumbles a bit in order to set up the ending, it's a strong feature worth checking out.

Eric Daniels (Ty Simpkins) is a high school senior who's heading into college with a sports scholarship and a promising future.  Yet the morning his sister Rose (Skyler Elyse Philpot) goes missing overnight, only to turn up walking out of the woods surrounding the house hours later, Eric becomes convinced it's not her.  It's possible the pressures put upon Eric by his parents has something to do with his belief about Rose.  Or, perhaps the incident has something to do with the imaginary woodland friend she talks about.

 Yeah, nothing says creepy small child than lighting like this.

To go any further into the plot would ruin the ending.  But the script, by necessity, spoils the conclusion itself.  We know something has changed between Eric and his friend/Rose's babysitter Jessica (Anneliese Judge), which will cause anyone to know the reappearance of little girl isn't the only mysterious thing happening.

The acting is pretty good.  Simpkins sometimes come across as too detached at times, but it feels true to the character.  Eric life isn't his, but directed by his parents, who seem less concerned about him than his future.  One scene with his mother (Kathy Searle) nails that point, with her affection towards Rose a stark contrast to her attitude towards Eric.  Judge is good as well, her performance giving us hints that something else is happening, and the ultimate reveal shows the strength of her performance.

But the standout performance is Philpot as Rose.  The audience knows, as does Eric, that something creepy is happening with the kid, but Philpot sells it.   She is terrific at going from creepy to innocent when needed, and I hope she appears in more features.

As I mentioned earlier, the cinematography by Gesualdo is impressive.  He's able to give the deep forests surrounding the Daniels and Waters homes an uncomfortable feeling to the audience, as if the isolated families are under threat from something within.  Towards the film's conclusion, some of the shots of the woods feel like padding, given the film's brief running time.  But such moments do keep the audience on edge for the most part, so it does work.

Having mentioned it earlier, I have to talk a bit about the conclusion, as it is both well developed, but, I I said, is spoiled to a point earlier in the film.  I'm going to do my best not to spoil too much, but if you want to avoid any hints concerning the conclusion, skip down to the photo following this one.

Ready?

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I still have some scary moments to keep.

 

By the time the film concludes, we know something else is going on with Eric.  That's not a spoiler, it's spelled out several times during the film.  But the script had to set things up for the ending to work and not come off like a cheap "Surprise!" reveal that undermines everything leading up to the reveal.  I'd like to say Mathis could have hid it better, but I'm not sure that's was possible.  For the resolution to work, the clues had to be in plain view.

And yes, we know a monster is lurking in the woods, and Rose has befriended it.  And I'm fine with how the film portrays it, even the fact that we have little idea what it is.  And the fact that its presence raise some questions with the authorities, I don't think the creature cares.   Leaving it a mystery works in the film's favor, as Eric conducting an Internet search to solve the mystery wouldn't have worked, as he's got point of reference to start at.

Okay, potential spoilers are over.  Come back, gentle readers.

Where's Rose? is a solid slow burn horror film, with good performances, solid camera work, and a creepy atmosphere to keep horror fans interested.  Despite the script's issues, the film is much better than the made-for-a-quick-buck studio horror films flooding the market now.  If you get the chance, check it out.

 Okay, you've read this far, here's a shot of the monster.  You're welcome.