Glasshouse is a South African venture that joins the ranks of such movies as The Witch, Hereditary, and other slow burns. The whole genre is an interesting one. The idea is a movie with a slow build to the final payoff. Some pull it off and some don’t. It really isn’t a genre for everything. While viewers may find the story interesting and detailed, others find them boring and lackluster. I say all this for a reason. I am a fan of the slow burn movie. However, it must be done right. You need something to keep your interest. Story elements to keep you engaged and pulled in. Midsommer might be the best in recent memory. It kept you drawn in learning about the pagan traditions and way of life in the village. Then we have Glasshouse.
Glasshouse fails where a possible interesting story falls flat. Where something like Hereditary used creepy backgrounds, naked old people, and strange noises to help suspend belief and build a sense of pending doom, Glasshouse fails with flat, monotone acting that fails itself at every turn. The pace never builds. Nothing ever really happens. When something finally does happen, you knew what was coming all along. There aren’t any surprises. Nothing is a twist. With the concept they had in mind, there was groundwork for excellence, but ultimately it failed to meet its potential.
The concept of Glasshouse is that the world has been infected with a poison of sorts that affects the memory. With exposure comes loss of memory and eventually an almost 24 Days Later style aggression. So, when a man comes wandering out of the forest injured in a gas mask, something is off when he’s not shot on sight. A group of people that appear to be a family have been living essentially in a giant greenhouse for decades. They have their way of life and rituals that they follow to help remember a past that the world is forgetting. When the injured man is brought in, there is massive suspicion as to who he is and what he wants. Nothing is known about the man other than that he has a bad leg injury. As things progress, you can see he has ulterior motives. One of the common things in the movie that is repeated on a couple occasions is that things repeat.
I wasn’t fond of this film. For starters, with the background story that they had and the setting, it was set up to be something extremely interesting. However, what you get is a bland mix of deadpan acting and nothing to really hold your attention. Add to that a fairly predictable plot, and you get a film that you may be more likely to turn off than wait to see the outcome. I really was going into this with a sense of optimism as the premise sounded promising. Unfortunately, it just seemed to drag on at the pace of a snail with very little happening.
When you take into account that this is apparently supposed to be a slow burn thriller, you risk a somewhat dull experience or hopefully a pleasant surprise. As I said, Glasshouse ended up being more of a chore to watch due to little going on and acting that didn’t help anything. Maybe it is the case of a movie that just wasn’t meant for me. That could just very well be the case. This ended up being one of those movies that just seemed to be more of a chore to get through than an enjoyable time of entertainment.
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Mental Health Moment: Isolation can be caused by many things. In Glasshouse it was an airborne disease. Today it could be depression, addiction or a variety of things. Isolation usually doesn’t lead to answers. Dwelling alone can often make things worse. There’s no way to get out of your own thoughts. Friends and family can always be a help. Getting out or even having them over. It helps to break that mental train that you may be stuck in. There are always professionals as well that can assist and lots of resources available to offer advice on how to manage the things that contribute to the isolation.
If you or someone you know is reading this right now and struggling with suicide, depression, addiction, or self-harm - please reach out. Comment, message, or tweet at us. Go to victimsandvillains.net/hope for more resources. Call the suicide lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Text "HELP" to 741-741. There is hope & you DO have so much value and worth!
Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Glasshouse is property of Local Motion Pictures. We do not own nor claim any rights.
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