The Canal

Released: 2014

MPAA Rating: R

Run time: 1 Hr., 32 min.


"The Canal" is an Irish horror film that has just the right mix of mystery and ghost story.  A film archivist, David (Rupert Evans), learns his wife, Alice (Hannah Hoekstra), is having an affair.  Shortly after his discovery, she turns up missing and is found dead and he, of course, is the prime suspect.  He learns of other murders that occurred in and around the home they own and becomes obsessed with proving that some mysterious force is responsible for her murder.  Evans does a really nice job playing David as a sympathetic, grieving husband who is determined to prove his innocence, while also showing you the methodical unraveling of his psyche.  While the film plays as a pretty good ghost story, it also leaves you with just enough to make you wonder: Did he do it? Is he going completely insane? You are really never sure.  The film also does a really nice job of letting you see his character through the eyes of those around him.  From the police detective who is determined he is responsible to the nanny and the woman who stands by him, you see his unraveling through their eyes.  The exasperation of the two women is portrayed perfectly as they begin to try to separate themselves from his madness, while trying to stay close to him to protect his son, who is clearly innocent in all of this.  What I loved about this movie, but what might bother others, is that it doesn't really commit to whether it is a ghost story or a descent into madness and you can certainly make the case that it is either or both of those.  At times, it borrows heavily from some of the Japanese horror classics like "The Ring", but it is still very much its own film.  It is a slow build horror film that doesn't rely too heavily on jump scares (although there are a few) and let's the story do the scaring.  All of it builds to one final scene that is just chilling. 

Grade: B-