Review: Lord of Tears (english)

Lord of Tears

A figure. A monster. The Owl Man. First I found the picture of this being on the internet and was enchanted by its dark and foreboding nature. Fascinated by the unknown. But when I found out that this picture was from a movie, I instantly knew I had to order it. But is it worth to dive into the world of the Owl Man? 

James is plagued by nightmares. Nightmares which don’t make sense and he doesn’t know why he has them. When he suddenly inherits the house of his childhood, he decides to search for answers to his questions there. But what he will find there will change his live forever.

What are dreams? They show us our deepest wishes and mix them with memories of past events, to create something unique and sometimes very terrifying. Through them, past proceedings are being handled and that’s exactly what happens to James in the Movie. The only problem is that he can remember these events, so he doesn’t understand why he has these dreams. And why is there always this creature, this man with an owls head and claws, who watches over him? Is he a bringer of death or what is his purpose. Besides that there is Eve or Evie, like she calls herself. Is she a piece of the jigsaw James has to put in the right place? All this questions will be answered in the end, but since you first hear the unholy voice of David Schofield as the Owl Man you know that there is no hope for James.

The whole movie moves very slowly, just like the old horror movies of the 50s. There are no jump scares here and after watching it, you instantly know that you don’t need these to be truly scared. Atmosphere is the one thing that is important and this one has so much of it that you will be frightened all the time, awaiting the fear to come lurking around every corner. Every so often the Owl Man makes an appearance, nearly all the times as a voyeur, watching over every step of James. An ominous force which pulls not only James but the Audience as well in.

Also the setting is beautiful to look at and resembles that of old Hammer movies. Gothic buildings, gorgeous landscapes and a presence so disturbing you can almost feel it. Also musically there is much of a resemblance to these old campy horror movies from Hammer. Mostly not present, the music only kicks in when it’s needed. The Audience goes on a journey and without any music to interfere with it, Brewster lays a path of breadcrumbs which will lead to the finish but never forces you to follow it. And then when you can almost see the finish line Brewster shows us what horror means, because in the last 30 minutes of the movie he pulls out some truly disturbing images and scenes which will bring you to the limit of what’s bearable. Images so terrifying that there doesn’t even need to be blood and guts spilled all over the place to show you what horror movies have to be like.

Lord of Tears is a very calm, but nonetheless scary movie. The Owl Man stands as one of the greatest horror figures in this new century, something about his presence alone that makes him almost like a godlike figure, entertains and frightens you from the very start. You’ll be glued to the TV the whole time and when the final 30 minutes start there will be scenes you’ll never ever forget. Lord of Tears is an absolute must have for every horror fans who digs the old Hammer movies and who wants to be frightened like never before. Definitely check it out!

Buy the movie here