ARROW FRIGHTFEST (digital): Hall
Hall is a bit of a weird one. It’s a debut feature from actor-turned-director Francesco Giannini, and it finds itself depressingly relevant in its release during the COVID-19 era. Hearing horror stories about super-spreading incidents and the silent, unavoidable threat that coronavirus brings, Hall instantly runs into multiple unavoidable stumbling blocks. Portraying the story of a crippling airborne virus emerging in a hotel, Hall is a brooding, tortoise-paced survival film. Conspiracy intertwines itself within family dispute as the virus spreads from door-to-door. What is most clear is that the virus in Hall is a brutal killer – and it operates fast. Whilst it might seem a blessing in disguise that an international pandemic has crossed over so strongly with its themes, it is quite clear that Hall was not made with the coronavirus in mind. Some of its problems simply could not have been anticipated. Audiences are now virus savvy, and the complexities of the virus within Hall are significantly unrelatable in the current climate. Where Hall excels is within the abuse plotlines and the method in which Giannini drips this pattern of behaviours throughout the events that unfold.
Hall certainly benefits from its low-key pacing. There’s never really a moment it speeds things up. It doesn’t need to. Giannini knows that the real horror is below the surface, and the best way to exploit that is with the long drawn out scenes of Val (Carolina Bartczak) crawling through the hallway of virus victims. Ultimately, the themes are encapsulated by that too. The rotting link between a man and a wife, and their child that is stuck within the middle. It touches on some very dark themes and is not simply a film that was released at the right time. Then again, it is certainly far from perfect. With so little going on beyond that storyline, there’s a weird lack of tension. Both Val and her daughter never feel in danger of catching the virus. Because of that, there’s often times in which Hall becomes lost within its own pacing.
With so little happening, and so little risk, it loses focus repeatedly. The worst offence actually comes after the credits, and it is not something to stick around for. Perhaps the worst post-credit scene in history, there’s a five-minute news report detailing the entirety of the film just shown. It is a total insult to the intelligence and borders on ruining the entire film. When the credits roll, get out!