Nocebo film review — Eva Green succumbs to hysteria in high-concept horror

Irish director Lorcan Finnegan and screenwriter Garret Shanley have collaborated on two thoughtful, mostly well-received, low-budget but high-concept horror features (Without Name and Vivarium) and a short (Foxes). So far, their strong suit, in addition to striking visuals, has been keeping viewers guessing until late in the game as to whether the protagonists are delusional or in the presence of the uncanny.

Nocebo, their latest effort, has some of those same strengths but less suspense than usual. It starts with fashion designer Christine (Eva Green, great at suggesting barely suppressed hysteria; less good at outright hysteria). Her mental sewing machine suddenly runs out of bobbin thread when she receives some mysterious and tragic news, only explained later. At that same moment she is also bitten by a tick from a mangy dog that appears out of nowhere, suggesting possible Lyme disease and very bad karma.

Somehow, it all feels connected to Diana (Chai Fonacier, terrific), a Filipino woman who shows up unexpectedly and, like a malign Mary Poppins, announces that she’s the new housekeeper. At first, Christine, her husband Felix (Mark Strong, somewhat wasted) and primary-school-aged daughter Bobs (Billie Gadsdon) are wary, but they are soon won over. This despite the fact that Diana proclaims she has witchy powers that will make everything better — only if Christine trusts her.

Flashbacks to Diana’s life in the Philippines, including references to the cruelties of dictatorships and late-stage capitalism, point all too obviously to the eventual ending. When all is revealed, it feels as if Finnegan and Shanley have artificially hefted more guilt on to poor Christine’s shoulders in order to make her more deserving of punishment. But that unbalances the film’s calculus of sympathy and detracts considerably from its verisimilitude.

Still, the use of deep-focus Persona-style shots of two faces aligned in uncomfortable proximity is striking, as are the eerie creaks and cracks of Jose Buencamino’s soundtrack.

★★★☆☆

In UK cinemas from December 9 and online in the US now