The countryside, especially a small village with houses scattered across a large area, hidden somewhere in a forest or wilderness, is an ideal place to set a horror story. I have held this conviction since childhood, when I spent my summer and winter holidays at my grandparents’ house on the outskirts, from whose windows the nearby pine and spruce trees of the Lower Silesian Forests could be seen. In my grandparents’ village, actually a hamlet, there were only a dozen or so other houses. On top of everything, my grandparents loved telling stories about nightmares and forest spirits who sometimes knocked on their window, and about an old, mustached German living in the attic and rattling chains (the German appeared in these stories so that it would not occur to us to look into the attic, which was reached by stairs dangerous for children. The scare tactics worked; without his knowledge, I went into the attic only a few times at most).
As an adult, I long ago shook off these folk tales, but nevertheless I could not resist going to Juliusz Machulski’s film “Lullaby”—a horror film with a comic character, made at the open-air museum in Olsztynek. Moreover, convinced of the director’s cinematic talent, I was even more eager to go. And unfortunately—despite high expectations, good reviews and an interesting interview with the director (Kino, 2/2010)—I was disappointed.
Before I left the cinema, however, I spent quite a long time thinking that “Lullaby” was indeed a film in which Machulski was the excellent director of “Vabank,” “Sexmission,” “Kingsajz” and “Vinci.” The film’s opening credits alone seem visually perfect, while Michał Lorenc’s music stays with us long after the screening. Another strength of the film is its screenplay concept—in the village of Odlotowo, people begin disappearing when a demonic-looking family arrives: the owner of the house where the family has settled, the postman, the priest, an altar boy, a social welfare employee, journalists… The matter is also handled by the professional Polish police. The screenplay is enhanced by excellent and hilarious dialogue. The camera moves expertly through “these beautiful natural surroundings” (one begins to regret not living in Odlotowo, even with a not particularly friendly family of vampires). In most cases, the actors perform well, although I personally found Janusz Chabior’s makeup as an old man somewhat jarring (I kept feeling that his step was too springy and his eye too bright).
Despite all the film’s strengths, at a certain point I began to miss the tension. In a good genre film, emotions should build, but “Lullaby” had no strong climax. In this kind of cinema, that is unfortunately a major flaw. At one point, the film almost ended without warning, and the means used to resolve the plot were far too banal. In short—a series of sketches can make for a great cabaret, but not necessarily a great film.
To everyone who decides to take a trip to the cinema, however, I wish you a good time. There will certainly be no shortage of healthy laughter with a touch of fear during the screening.
Katarzyna Boćkowska