Piper premiered at Frightfest 2023 and is currently awaiting a release date.
Once more he stept into the street;
Robert Browning (The Pied Piper of Hamelin)
And to his lips again
Laid his long pipe of smooth straight cane;
And ere he blew three notes (such sweet
Soft notes as yet musician’s cunning
Never gave th’enraptured air)
There was a rustling, that seem’d like a bustling
Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling,
Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering,
Little hands clapping, and little tongues chattering,
And, like fowls in a farm-yard when barley is scattering,
Out came the children running.
All the little boys and girls,
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,
And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls,
Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after
The wonderful music with shouting and laughter.
Rooted in medieval folklore and legend, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” would become a classic Grimm Brothers’ story and one of Robert Browning’s best-known poems, but its roots run deeper. Hamelin town records, dating to 1384, talk of the children who mysteriously left the town, while the 15th Century Luneburg manuscript refers to 130 children or young people vanishing on 26th June 1284, led by a pied piper. The story of The Pied Piper has had several cinematic adaptations over the years, from the 1918 silent German film directed by Paul Wegener to the 1972 adaptation directed by Jacques Demy. Now Anthony Waller (An American Werewolf in Paris) has the Pied Piper in his sights with Piper, premiering at this year’s Frightfest London. Leading up to the premiere, we were promised “a wickedly creepy fantasy and a terrifying tale of children paying for the sins of their parents.” But does it deliver? And can it spark a new interest in the Pied Piper legend?
We are all familiar with the story of the mysterious Piper, whom the people of Hamelin hired to rid the town of its rats. When the town elders refused to pay the Piper for his service, the Piper led all the town’s children, like the rats before, to an unknown fate. “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” is a dark tale from history that plays to modern fears as much as ancient ones. It is a story of betrayal, child abduction and revenge; therefore, it’s strange that it has been largely absent from the horror genre over the years.
Set in the present day, Piper opens with deliciously dark scenes of a frantic mother driving toward a hospital with her manic child. The child appears uncontrollable and in a deep trance as they pull up outside a mental health facility, and the mother screams for help. But when the Piper calls, tragedy is three soft musical notes away as darkness engulfs the mother and her child.
Several weeks later, Liz ( Elizabeth Hurley) and her daughter Amy (Mia Jenkins) arrive in Hamelin, having relocated from the United States. Liz is a history teacher, and her new position at a local private school means her daughter will gain a valuable education free of charge. But as mother and daughter settle in, disturbing events take hold. Rats appear from nowhere and haunt Liz’s waking hours, while at night, Amy wakes to find her body covered with insects her mother cannot see. Meanwhile, an enigmatic traveller named Luca (Jack Stewart) captures Amy’s heart and appears to have answers to the terrors engulfing the town, but can he save Liz and Amy from Piper’s deadly tune as he wakes from his slumber?
The opening fifty minutes of Waller’s film are gloriously inviting and inventive. Hurley and Jenkin’s delightful performances hold the story together, with secrets slowly revealed as Piper’s supernatural and ancient darkness encroaches. However, Waller struggles to maintain this initial promise, and by the finale, Piper’s tune has lost some of its hypnotic charm. While the narrative path is strong, Piper occasionally lacks focus, and this is not helped by the love story that develops between Amy and Luca. Too often, this love story dilutes the tension built during the opening fifty minutes. The film’s reflection of German culture and folklore is equally problematic as it seeks to appeal to a British and American audience. Here Piper neither reflects nor fully acknowledges the country it’s based in, stripping the story of its cultural roots and diluting the power of the Pied Piper legend.
However, while these flaws affect the flow of Waller’s film and the overarching artistic merit, there are moments of brilliance. The Piper is gloriously designed, and in the brief moments he takes to the screen, Waller’s movie finds its terrifying voice. Equally assured are the rats that scurry through the town, nibbling at the fingers of young people while they sleep and invading homes before disappearing into the walls. Sound design and cinematography are also impressive as Piper’s tune eerily echoes through the streets of the medieval town, which is held in a timeless haze worthy of the ancient Hamelin legend.
Piper works when it fully embraces a Hammer-esque landscape of medieval houses, colourful costumes, lush forests and dark folklore, allowing the dark legend of the Piper to speak for itself. And while Waller’s film may struggle to maintain this strength as it rushes toward its conclusion, there is a lot to love, from the performances of Hurley and Jenkins to the rat-infested houses that announce the Pied Piper’s deadly return.
SLAPFACE
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Piper | 2022
Summary
Piper works when it fully embraces a Hammer-esque landscape of medieval houses, colourful costumes, lush forests and dark folklore, allowing the dark legend of the Piper to speak for itself. And while Waller’s film may struggle to maintain this strength as it rushes toward its conclusion, there is a lot to love, from the performances of Hurley and Jenkins to the rat-infested houses that announce the Pied Piper’s deadly return.
