Anna Biller Brings Medieval Ghost Story to Toronto Midnight Madness
Anna Biller has taken a Japanese ghost story to medieval England.
Her new film, The Face of Horror, screened in Midnight Madness at the Toronto International Film Festival, the late-night section devoted to horror and genre films. Written and directed by Biller, the film runs 1 hour 59 minutes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The story transposes “Yotsuya Kaidan,” a classic Japanese ghost tale, to 14th-century England. In plain terms, it keeps the bones of the haunting and rebuilds it in a new place and century. The setting is new. The haunting is old.
Kristine Froseth stars as Eleanor, a woman desperate for the love of her husband, as noted by Deadline. Jonah Hauer-King plays Edward, a knight. Ellie Bamber plays Beatrice, Leo Suter plays Richard and Bella Heathcote plays Isabel.
The full cast listed by The Hollywood Reporter also includes Ben Radcliffe, Perdita Weeks, Clare Calbraith, Edward Franklin, John Sackville and Steven Blake. A writer-director controls both script and staging, from dialogue to where the camera sits, so this is firmly Biller’s build.
The production looked to old stone for its atmosphere. Biller shot primarily in and around old castles and churches in Prague, a city that retains many medieval buildings. The images were captured on 35mm film, the traditional celluloid stock that runs through a camera rather than a digital sensor.
For fans, this means texture you can feel. Real walls, windows and corridors give the actors something solid to play against. Celluloid brings visible grain and a softer colour that many directors favour for period stories.
Biller previously wrote and directed The Love Witch, released in 2016. On this film, Froseth arrived at the last minute before shooting after another actress dropped out, according to Variety. A switch that late means fast fittings, fast rehearsals and a quick bond with the rest of the ensemble.
What makes this stand out is the pairing. A 14th-century English court and a Japanese tale of betrayal and return do not often meet in one theatre. Here they do, with knights, ladies and church stone carrying a ghost story across centuries and continents.
