In the opening scenes of The Luring, we are introduced to a young family preparing to buy a remote New England getaway. The couple (played by Alex Emanuel and Angela Rambourg) is led around the quarters by a quasi-ominous elderly realtor while their young son heads down to explore the basement.
The sequence is professionally staged, with strong shot composition and the film’s most expressive, competent actors. Unfortunately, they are never seen again, and we are left with an entirely new couple entering the same exact house, apparently years later, for the remainder of the film.
Garrett (played by Rick Irwin) is our antagonist. We learn from a brief clip that the house was his parents’ and that he had a rather tragic birthday party there when he was 10, but suffers from amnesia over the whole affair, which is one reason he wishes to return.
“…he had a rather tragic birthday party there when he was 10…”
The other reason is correspondence he’s had with a mysterious woman with whom he has connected with but knows nothing about. Oh, and he decided to bring his current girlfriend Claire (Michaela Sprague). I mention this rather flippantly because, from the very first scenes, there seems to be not an iota of chemistry between them. Claire seemingly adores Garrett, and his feelings for her range from passive tolerance to seething contempt.
During their first night in the house, Garrett is awakened by rustling in the basement to find a masked woman (played by Molly Fahey) writhing around, spouting vaguely coherent musings like: “We will dance under the wind while are souls are cremated with lies and goodbyes.”
This is an apparent turn-on for Garrett, who cannot get enough of this masked woman who just broke into his house in the middle of the night while he is supposed to reconcile his amnesiac past.
"…focus is never truly clear to the viewer."
I watched the film and I really enjoyed it and it actually sparked a discussion with my roommates who saw it with me. We ended up re-watching some scenes that would support whatever point we were trying to make. I first saw the trailer and that got me. I don’t think The Luring is for everyone but to be honest, great, I’m so sick and tired of the same plots you can see unfold a mile away. The Luring isn’t your typical horror film rather its a psychological thriller which is to me a big difference. I respectfully disagree with your take on The Luring comparing it to the movie “It” as if there can’t be any other movie with a red balloon. If The Luring had a clown holding a balloon in a gutter that would be a different story but the backstory of the balloon in The Luring is substantially different from the movie It. Let it go.
Not to pick apart your review but you mention the decor of the flashbacks. That’s explained in the film. The inside of the house hasn’t changed since the “incident” as the old man as the agent explained so why would the furniture be different? They don’t live there.
I don’t know, maybe I saw something you didn’t but I think you’re hung up on Stephen King, I saw some influences from The Shining but that didn’t bother me at all, I liked how the film unfolded and the pace of the film was Shinning-like but I see two totally different stories.
I also really liked how the director Wells gave this film a tone of its own, from the ultra quick flashbacks to the way the story wraps up in the end, I wasn’t expediting that. The quick flashbacks reminded me of the ones in Easy Rider but I’m not going to say this movie is a rip off that movie because of it.
Yeah I really liked this film a lot. I think it’s the kind of film you can’t watch on your phone or you’ll miss some key points because The Luring doesn’t spoon-feed the audience, another reason why I liked it. My roommates did to. I recommend it. Maybe watch it again without associating The Luring with Stephen King..