Netflix has brought us one of its most controversial and chilling films yet. Horse Girl directed by Jeff Baena, which premiered at the famous Sundance Festival, has now made its way onto our small screens. It stars Alison Brie as the socially awkward and introverted protagonist, Sarah.
At first glance Sarah appears to live a simple life. But this turns out to be far from the truth. A gift from a close friend leads Sarah to question her family history. A consequence of this is a gradual unravelling of her seemingly normal life to the point where we begin to question her sanity….and what on earth is ‘normal life’, anyway?
Cinematically Horse Girl is remarkable. There are numerous scenes where the camera is tightly focused on the protagonist to the point where it becomes almost unbearable to watch, as if the viewer being made to feel uncomfortable is itself a reflection of Sarah’s awkwardness and discomfort. The soundtrack is equally unusual; so, too, is the lighting, which evolves from natural tones to intensely artificial brightness.
This is definitely worth a watch: it will leave you on the edge of your sofa and may have you questioning your own sanity.
