katrinaolson.ca - Let Her Out (CIFF 2016)

Posted on Sunday, September 25, 2016 at 09:00 AM

Movie: Let Her Out

Let Her Out (CIFF 2016)

Review by Katrina Olson-Mottahed x CalgaryMovies.com

A KO Review by Emily Mody

Let Her Out is a full-length horror film directed by Cody Calahan. The story follows twenty-three year old Helen (played by Alanna LeVierge) who is a bike courier living in Toronto. After a traumatic accident, Helen begins to experience horrifying hallucinations and night terrors. After going to the doctor to find a solution she discovers that she has a benign growth that is actually her twin sister. The story really picks up when Helen, with the help of her best friend, Molly (played by Nina Kiri), realizes that the hallucinations may not be as false as they seem.

Let Her Out was, without a doubt, scary and I like to think that that means a lot coming from me. Not very many things scare me but this film definitely did. I would say that is pretty much the only thing I liked about this film unfortunately. The acting definitely did not meet my expectations and the plot seemed a little silly to me. I understand that excellent horror films have been made on the basis of a shaky plot but I think if you want to delve into psychological aspects then the plot has to be very strong. Especially in this day and age where sensitivity to mental health is really at it’s height. The overall feel of the plot just seemed pretty unrealistic and somewhat confusing. I’m still unsure about what ultimately happened to Helen at the end of the film. I guess the confusion for me, stems from whether or not the plot was based on psychology (natural laws) or possession (non-natural laws). It seemed like Let Her Out was a bit of both but unfortunately that did not work.

While Helen has to wait a total of three days to have her operation I’m not sure why she wasn’t hospitalized if everyone around her knew she was a danger to herself and others. Helen pretty much just kept going into her room, tying herself to her bedpost and locking her door (from the inside, I might add). I’m sure it wasn’t the director’s intention but it just seemed like the audience was being treated as if they were stupid. Helen just kept turning to solutions that weren’t really solutions at all and Molly just stood by and watched as her friend completely deteriorated before her eyes. It all just seemed very unrealistic and silly to me.

Let Her Out was still a good scare but I would be pretty embarrassed to recommend it to someone unless they were looking for that. If you are still interested in watching it, it is important to keep in mind that Let Her Out is definitely for mature audiences. The film included sex, sexual violence, nudity, drug use, language, violence, and pretty heavy gore. I was actually a little shocked at the level of gore. I didn’t expect to see that in a film with such a heavy psychological focus. Let Her Out will be screened as a part of The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF). It will be playing on Saturday, September 24th at 10:45pm and Wednesday, September 28th at 4:45pm at the Globe.

Calgary Showtimes: 17th Calgary International Film Festival 2016 > | Let Her Out >