Forgive Us All
There are only so many ways to grieve the loss of a husband, a child, a world; Rory has endured them all, her husband having helped out in the first wave but infected himself, the virus taking hold as he arrived home, passing it to their daughter Matty, and now it is just Rory and her father-in-law Otto in what was once their ranch, a shell of dust and memories.
The days dragging by, the empty hours of dwelling on regret are broken by a discovery by the river, a wounded man wearing the jacket of a GMA agent but in fact an outcast like them, his young son bitten by a howler and two days of the seventy two hour window in which the antidote can be given already lost, a stolen injector of Ivacron in his saddlebag and pursuit following, led by an unforgiving man who enjoys the enforcement of martial law a little too much.
Directed by Jordana Stott from a script co-written with Lance Giles who also stars as Noah, the horseback fugitive, and Alex Makauskas, Forgive Us All is an unrelenting modern horror western, bleak and without pity, hard people in unforgiving times, cruelty more common than mercy and the decision of Rory (Lily Sullivan) to help a stranger in need liable to damn both her and Otto (Richard Roxburgh).
Shot in the mountains and forests of New Zealand, like The Lord of the Rings this is a film about walking, hiding and sometimes riding horses, every location magnificent and breathtaking, nature unsullied by the hand of man, but undeniably gorgeous visuals alone are not a story and with those taken out of consideration the film has little to stand on, a simple tale of desperate need, atonement and redemption which could have played out as a short rather than as a feature.
The situation and all its tragic details and repercussions presented as a fait accomplit, no deeper background or history explained beyond the immediate family history, presumably echoed across the land, if not the world, and worse in the cities and population centres, there is little trust but there are many guns and knives, survival taking precedence over rebuilding, little conversation and no allowances made for understanding or compromise.
Where Stake Land told a similar story of society washed away by hungry viral monsters with a cold beauty, an awareness that there could still be some kindness in the world which made the fight worthwhile, Forgive Us All wallows in desolate misery and grief, unsentimental but making a poor plea for its existence beyond the quietly carried burden of anguish of the characters, a whole heap of dead bodies for the sake of one child a poor bargain when civilisation is on the edge.
Forgive Us All will have its UK Premiere at Grimmfest on Saturday 11th October with a DVD and digital release on Monday 13th October
