Farrelly’s ability to captivate and engage is without question, as is his ability to weave contemporary and historical social commentary into a bone-chilling, candlelit horror that leaves an indelible mark. An Taibhse is awaiting a UK release date.
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Monsters come in many different forms. Some are supernatural, stalking the living night and day but never showing their face; others are internal, and some walk among us, just waiting for their next victim to manipulate, control, seduce or terrorise. Internal, external and supernatural monsters can suddenly appear in our lives or follow us wherever we go until we choose to exorcise them. Monsters and the many forms they take sit at the heart of director John Farrelly’s atmospheric and unnerving horror, An Taibhse (The Ghost).
Night casts its shadows as Éamon (Tom Kerrisk) and his daughter Máire (Livvy Hill) arrive by horse and cart at the large, sprawling manor house deep in the Irish countryside, where they will call home over the autumn and winter. The house is quiet as they walk through its large, cavernous halls and narrow, scantily lit corridors, searching for their meagre lodgings. Finding their beds for the night, they settle in as best they can as the wind howls outside.
Following her mother’s death, Máire and her blunt father will act as caretakers, keeping the house secure and maintained through the harsh winter while working on its many dilapidated rooms and outbuildings in the hope of securing permanent work when the owners return in the spring. Éamon views this move as a fresh start, an escape from the ghosts of the past, but Máire isn’t so sure. And as an unseen presence from Máire’s past, a spirit she has named “Alexander” returns to haunt her, leaving visible bruises and marks, Éamon dismisses his daughter’s plight, turning to drink as he becomes more and more unstable. As far as Éamon is concerned, they can’t leave the manor house, no matter what is happening to his daughter; after all, it’s their responsibility to care for it.
You would be right if you think all this sounds reminiscent of the Overlook Hotel. In many ways, John Farrelly’s horror is a love letter to Stephen King’s The Shining and Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation. From a supernatural presence that is hard to define to visions of an unavoidable future and an alcoholic caretaker slowly descending into madness within a sprawling, empty property, all the ingredients of King’s story and Kubrick’s film are here. Even Ally Donald and Tom Kerrisk’s heart-pounding score and sound design ripple with the same energy as Kubrick’s masterpiece. But while many aspects of An Taibhse feel familiar, its finale throws us a shocking, revelatory, and devastating curveball.
The first horror film to be released in the Irish language, Farrelly’s An Taibhse is an assured indie horror; its foreboding and downright chilling atmosphere free from the Hollywood addiction to lavish budgets, extensive sets and CGI. Farrelly knows how to generate fear and does so with ease, allowing the outstanding performances of Hill and Kerrisk to take centre stage. At the same time, the disused manor house at the heart of the action becomes a character in its own right, its decaying grandeur and winding corridors a sublime maze of shadows that is accentuated by the beautiful cinematography of Farrelly and Ross Power.
An Taibhse is bold and unnerving, but at times leans too heavily into King’s themes and Kubrick’s vision in its structure, narrative beats, and style. However, despite this, Farrelly’s discussions on the internal monsters that haunt us and the living, breathing monsters that walk freely among us help An Taibhse find its unique voice.
An Taibhse’s use of the Irish Language, its historical context, and its nineteenth-century ‘Great Famine’ setting reflect themes of intergenerational trauma and historical oppression, while also finding a far more modern voice due to recent lockdowns that, in some cases, allowed the darkest family secrets to thrive unseen.
An Taibhse is an accomplished, atmospheric and chilling story of secrets, lies, supernatural visions, manipulation, and monsters that shines in its ability to generate fear from the opening scene to the last. Farrelly’s ability to captivate and engage is without question, as is his ability to weave contemporary and historical social commentary into a bone-chilling, candlelit horror that leaves an indelible mark.
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