The Wind, director Emma Tammi’s taut feature debut from a lean script by Teresa Sutherland (also a debut), is a natural entry into the vital, if understocked, horror-Western subgenre. The film’s feminist foundation makes it even more unique and committed performances (particularly by lead Caitlin Gerard) propel the film forward, as does the creepy, austere cinematography from Lyn Moncrief, which perfectly matches the sparse writing. Though the film ends up being less effective than some of its most immediate peers, it still has plenty to offer, particularly as a “feminist Western.” The documentary and short film experience of both writer and director comes across plainly, as scenes play out tidily and believably despite the supernatural subject matter.
The story follows nineteenth-century frontierswoman Lizzy (Gerard), a German immigrant, as she and her religious husband Isaac (Ashley Zukerman) navigate the arrival of new neighbors Gideon (Dylan McTee) and Emma (Julia Goldani Telles). Emma proves to be a particular challenge as she descends into madness and, potentially, possession. Though the set-up is pretty bare bones, texture is added temporally, as the film largely doesn’t follow a traditional beginning-to-end timeline. The film is over in a swift 86 minutes, which feels even shorter given the film’s roving timeline.
The whole setup recalls, in a sense, Robert Eggers’ incredible 2015 chiller The Witch. The films share the backwoods American setting, the sense of increasing paranoia and the slow descent into demonic influence. However, where The Witch had dense dialogue and powerful imagery to make it shine, The Wind takes a spare approach to both scene and scenery. This would have worked better if The Wind’s narrative unfolded in a more traditional way, but it is presented in a fragmented mix of silence and flashback, which leads to some exciting moments, even though it is mostly used for cheap jump scares rather than nuance. The other problem with the unreliable chronology is that the time jumps aren’t clearly identified, which makes for occasionally confusing viewing.
However, though The Wind suffers in comparison with better flat-out horror films, it differentiates itself in terms of the themes it takes on and its feminist approach to those themes. This is particularly noticeable in that The Wind takes a feminist approach to a distinctly anti-feminist genre. Over the years, Westerns (with exceptions like 2010’s Meek’s Cutoff, 2014’s The Homesman and 2015’s Jane’s Got a Gun) have made us forget that there were just as many women in the Old West as there were men. The Wind approaches the roles given to women—primarily motherhood and wifedom—with compassion and depth as well as horror. This, more than the supernatural elements, really makes The Wind a satisfying experience. Ecological underpinnings add relevance without making it an “issue” film (not that there’s anything wrong with being an “issue” film).
Though The Wind doesn’t really break any new ground, it offers a fresh take as both an exhibit of horror and as a Western. Driven by powerful imagery, a strong feminist backbone and a committed central performance by Caitlin Gerard, it rightfully carves a space out for itself in a crowded film landscape. Debut director Emma Tammi and screenwriter Teresa Sutherland have bright futures ahead of them.
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