From the jump, A Wounded Fawn, the latest from director Travis Stevens (Girl on the Third Floor, Jakob’s Wife), flaunts its Italian influences, from the grainy, shot-on-16mm look, striking color palates, woman-in-peril motif, use of masks, prog-rock score, an owl creature lifted from Stage Fright, even the main car. Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within), balancing charm and menace, plays a serial killer who lures a potential victim, played by Sarah Lind (True Justice), to a remote cabin. Nothing good will come from that. For her anyway, it's a damn fine time for viewers.
[Related Reading: 'Werewolves Within' Movie Review]
The first half leans heavily on mythological symbolism and introduces potentially supernatural elements. But if the first half apes Argento and his ilk, the midway point is where the tab of LSD ol’ Dario took at the beginning kicks in and we veer sharply from fun-but-familiar slasher narrative to something much more metaphorical and hallucinatory. Following a nightmare dream logic and flooring it, A Wounded Fawn surprises and subverts until the final frame. [Grade: A]
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