That is the kind of setting Beyl has for The Veil. The green glowing night over the dark woods is dead solid, perfect for the chills injected into your spine. A lot of thanks goes to the phenomenal low-light cinematography by David Gordon. Most of the movie takes place in dark rooms that are barely lit by green rays of light through the windows, with Kennedy allowing candlelight to be used only a few times. Gordon finds amazing sharpness in the details and preciseness in the shadow play of his compositions. It is mesmerizing to the eye and narcotically soothing to the nerves. I could go to sleep in O’Bryan’s house in the green glowing woods night after night if it weren’t for getting caught.
Beyl takes us on a magnificent head trip through a genre-slipping path into darkness. Yes, the overall territory is horror, indicating that we are in for a ghost story. However, as the story unfurls, it veers into unexpected developments that keep you reassessing what is happening. As your expectations are thwarted, the presence of the undefined menace grows larger and larger. Beyl is also unafraid to plunge deep into the drama at the most effective moments.
“Beyl takes us on a magnificent head trip through a genre-slipping path into darkness.”
All this happens in the shades of jet black and radioactive green, adding to the mysterious venom that drips off everything. The biggest triumph is how Beyl keeps the major movements in the story simple to follow into an absolutely delirious paradox. Even for a paradox connoisseur, I found this paradox to be brain-blasting, ornate, and utterly satisfying in its impossibility. And it is all easy to follow, like the yellow brick road, except it is the emerald sky instead of the city, and something is coming after you.
O’Bryan nails his acting by keeping it close to the bone real. He can react to everything like some tired old guy waking up in the middle of the night. Kennedy makes Hannah a living, breathing person instead of representing a religious sect. She also knows how to sell the fright, as she gets really scared. The Veil is an elegant chiller that will make the darkest parts of your head glow bright green.
"…A paradox to be brain-blasting, ornate, and utterly satisfying in its impossibility."
