Went Up The Hill

Direct from Melbourne International Film Festival comes a chilly Antipodean Gothic.

Jack (Dacre Montgomery, Stranger Things) travels to New Zealand for the funeral of his estranged mother, Elizabeth, from whom he was separated by social services as a child. Though Jack claims he was invited by his mother’s widow, Jill (Vicky Krieps, The Dead Don’t Hurt), she has no recollection of doing so. Nevertheless, Jill invites Jack to stay in her austere South Island home, an architectural marvel designed by her dead wife. As night falls, it becomes clear that Elizabeth’s malevolent spirit lingers in the space – and that she has unfinished business with both of them.

This Bergmanesque queer psychosexual two-hander is the second feature by New Zealand–born, Sydney-based filmmaker Samuel Van Grinsven (Sequin in a Blue Room). Montgomery and Krieps give a scene partner masterclass, deftly handling three personas between them through subtle shifts in physicality and voice work. With an unnerving musical score by recurring Terrence Malick collaborator Hanan Townshend, this elegant ghost story explores the difficulty of reckoning with what the dead leave behind.

Screening October 30 at Luna Leederville.