Thine Ears Shall Bleed is a 2024 American period horror, written and directed by Ben Bigelow, with additional writing from William Bigelow. Previously working as writer and director of the short film The Desert (2018), this is the first feature-length film with Ben in this position. On the other hand, William has worked on numerous projects as a writer–spending ten years as a writer for TV series and later as a screenwriter for Frozen with Fear (2001) and Boat Trip (2002).
It’s the 1860s and a religious family is traveling across the western states in a covered wagon. Ezekiel (Andrew Hovelson) and Sarah (Hannah Cabell), along with their children Abigail (Lea Zawada) and Luke (Duke Huston), hear a mysterious sound from the woods, which they believe to be a calling from God. They begin to worship it… but it’s not long before their faith turns to unimaginable terror.
Straddling the line between religious horror and period Western, Thine Ears Shall Bleed provides a surprisingly mystifying story. The sound is a mix of droning winds, organ music, and angelic choir, yet holds a significant resemblance to the phenomenon known as The Hum–experienced worldwide around the early 2000s. Yet, the film maintains an enigmatic air around this noise and its origin, keeping viewers in a similar ignorance to the protagonists throughout most of its runtime. Additionally, the religious elements are implemented naturally through the highly pious nature of the time, their devout tendencies avoid being too over-zealous in delivery in contrast to their surroundings unlike a more modern setting.
While the film’s cinematography is fairly standard throughout, there are a handful of atypical cinematic styles interspersed throughout which elevate the visuals. From the manipulation of a low depth-of-field, a slow, continuous tracking shot encircling the family, and even an erudite use of panning and editing to create a constant looping shot; the limited use of these unconventional styles certainly strengthens their impact when effectuated.
Featuring a rather accomplished yet small cast, the performances provided by our five protagonists are the driving force behind the narrative’s somewhat unhurried pace. Being filmed in the wilderness of Montana, the film is hugely driven by these characters and their slow descent into religious fanaticism, with stand-out performances from Andrew Hovelson as Rev. Ezekiel Thatcher and Hannah Cabell as his wife Sarah. Each imbues their character with opposite yet equally striking renditions of their hellish descent. While Andrew embraces this subsidence with a highly animated performance, Hannah, instead, utilises a subtle resistance that soon escalates as the film progresses.
While Thine Ears Shall Bleed is relatively lacking in overly gruesome moments, there are a handful of moments that are counter to this. However, the film chooses to implement a less-is-more approach, hiding these moments either out of frame, obstructed, or just simply cuts to black as incredibly visceral audio performs much of the heavy lifting. While this allows the audience to fill in the blanks with their own interpretation of the scene’s conclusion, actually visualising at least some of these scenes (and aiming for a higher rating than 15) undoubtedly would have aided the film overall–rather than feel the need to self-censor the films more gory moments.
An enjoyable blending of religious horror with America’s Old West, Thine Ears Shall Bleed main issue lies in its inability to embrace its own brutality. While the cast do a fantastic job driving the mysterious story forward, the reluctance to fully embody what few visceral moments are to be found is slightly disappointing in an otherwise engaging narrative. Despite this, the film still creates a tense atmosphere of dread, deception, and mystery that perpetuates until the end credits roll.
Thine Ears Shall Bleed (2024) is available on UK digital from July 15th, 2024
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Hey there, I’m Jim and I’m located in London, UK. I am a Writer and Managing Director here at Grimoire of Horror. A lifelong love of horror and writing has led me down this rabbit hole, allowing me to meet many amazing people and experience some truly original artwork. I specialise in world cinema, manga/graphic novels, and video games but will sometime traverse into the unknown in search of adventure.