New horror movieSecond half” asks the question: “Is hiking in the endless desert really scary?” Even though Harry (Jake Lacy) tries to reassure his worried girlfriend (Maika Monroe) that everything is fine, the answer to that question is, of course, yes...
It's been an exciting year for horror fans. In addition to the return of several beloved franchises, original films such as the recent "Smile," "Barbarian" and, in particular, the horror festival "Terrifying 2“, they are collecting increasingly large circulations. Among the new, original horrors lies another new film that is one of the most interesting and unexpected this year.
A film by Robert Olsen and Dan Burke cannot be labeled or boxed in because it's not just one kind of film. It turns into several, each time unexpectedly.
The film opens with an image of a red star falling from the sky, followed by a haunting "Predator", slithering through the woods as it heads toward a nearby deer.
Immediately after this we are introduced to Harry and Ruth. A couple of six years going on a camping trip - planned by Harry - in the beautiful wilderness of the Pacific Northwest.
The setting itself symbolizes Ruth's agonizing fear of the unknown. The late shot, taken by the campfire at night with a sea of trees in the background, perfectly conveys the silence around them.
The duet is explored briefly (mostly on a superficial level), but this is enough to understand their dynamics. Harry is charming, if not a little awkward. But he is dedicated to his cause and plans to propose on top of a picturesque mountain.
Ruth—quieter and prone to worry—is less eager to settle down, partly because of her parents' divorce. But she also feels anxious, seemingly anticipating something sinister. Harry calms her fears by explaining that her favorite activity, surfing, is more dangerous than their current trip.
He eventually proposes as planned, and Ruth experiences a panic attack in response. She later explains, “I’m with you because I love you—isn’t that enough?”
Her views on love and relationships become more changeable and vague, and Ruth tells Harry, “Someday you will change; maybe this new version of you will love me, maybe not.”
The first half hour of the film “The Second Half” passes quietly. The vast Oregon forests combined with the couple's subdued post-proposal mood create a mysterious, atmospheric tone that gives way to several scary moments - four to be exact - mutually frightening moments between Harry and Ruth, who take several solo walks through the woods. And although they are mostly simple, each of them is effective; they brilliantly capture feelings of paranoia, mistrust and subtly ask the question: “Do we ever truly know our partners?”
During one of the walks, Ruth stumbles upon the same deer as at the beginning of the film. It was torn apart and covered in a strange substance. During the subsequent walk, she wanders into a cave and is frightened by something that we cannot see. After that, she becomes different.
This is where the film takes its first big turn - it becomes like a meditation on relationships and mental health. The Brian De Palma-esque split-focus shots of the couple illustrate how disconnected they are from each other, with tension effectively created.
Harry, alarmed, says that she is always stressed and seems paranoid. But what is Ruth hiding? And what did she find in the cave?
Maika Monroe played the smart, suspicious woman to perfection, and here she does it again with quiet depth. The wrinkles and movements of the muscles of her face and forehead poetically replace the dialogue and say so much - without telling us anything.
The next day, Ruth tells Harry that she will accept his offer, but wants to recreate him. He does so, she agrees, and then pushes him down the mountain to die and runs away. Passing out, she is found and helped by another couple walking nearby.
Here, The Other Half takes its second sharp, unexpected turn, transforming from an A24-style mystery into a supernatural sci-fi horror.
The rest of the film is an epic battle that goes in many unexpected directions - and ends with yet another twist that changes the genre yet again. This time in body horror - reminiscent of films like Under the Skin and Tentacles, produced by Blumhouse on Hulu.
Other horror films play a significant role here, and their influence is clearly visible throughout the film. Along with the aforementioned body horror and references to De Palma, there are also elements of Terminator 2, Body Snatchers and even shark films.
Essentially, it's about the monsters we fight, both external forces and internal ones. The film plays on the idea that we never truly know our partners—or, importantly, even ourselves.
Ruth has been battling her demons long before we met her, and she changes a lot over the course of the film; but she still can't get away from herself. And her wide range of emotions are lined up by Monroe with subdued efficiency.
In fact, director duo Burke and Olsen, who worked with Maika on Villains, said they wrote the role specifically for her—and had her real personality in mind when working on it.
Monroe's calm performance is balanced by Jake Lacy's signature wit and humor - he reaches levels of precise yet shocking proportions here.
What makes the horror film The Other Half most surprising is its refusal to play by typical horror movie rules. This also makes it one of the best this year. He refuses to be tied to one thing, instead moving seamlessly from one genre to another and endlessly playing with our expectations. Even to the very end, its unconventional denouement raises more questions than answers.
Best of all, it all happens in an easily digestible 84 minutes. In its short time, the horror film The Other Half manages to challenge our ideas of what it is - always staying one step ahead. Personally, I would have preferred a longer film that would continue and explain more of the story. But at an hour and 24 minutes, The Other Half offers a fun, original idea and is one of the best horror films of 2022.
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