Dennis Harvey Film Critic Mysterious are the ways of the Lord, but devious those of His opposite number in “Thine Ears Shall Bleed.” This enterprising first feature from Ben Bigelow recalls “The Witch” in placing another pious pioneer family at the mercy of the elements — and apparent occult forces — during an early chapter of American history.
The command of atmospheric tension Robert Eggers demonstrated in his own debut is not much evidenced here, making for a middling supernatural drama that’s never terribly convincing, or scary.
Nonetheless, it’s an indie sufficiently polished to attract viewers looking for offbeat genre fare that’s relatively restrained in graphic horror content.
It releases to U.S. digital platforms July 9, with the U.K. following on the 15th. Though time and place go unspecified onscreen, we’re somewhere around the 1860s in Montana locations.
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