Through the Shadow is Brazilian director/writer Walter Lima Jr.’s gritty remake of The Innocents (1961) and a reworking of the Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw. Set on a coffee plantation in 1930s Brazil, this provocative ghost story lacks major scares but makes up for that with a dark atmosphere of suspense.
Buy Through the Shadow (2015) DVDLaura (Virginia Cavendish) accepts an offer from a wealthy man named Afonso (Domingos Montagner) as governess/nanny to his niece and nephew on his vast coffee plantation out in the country. Laura is given carte blanche over the children’s well-being on condition that Afonso must never be contacted about affairs on the plantation. Laura arrives to the aroma of burning coffee beans and finds the standoffish little Elsa (Mel Maia) hiding by a nearby pond singing an odd, rather sad song and picking flowers. Laura will soon meet the truculent young Master Antonio (Xande Valois) once he returns home from boarding school after being discharged early.
After some time spent with the children, Miss Laura begins to suspect that their rather puckish behavior is due to more than simply restlessness or lax upbringing. Laura also begins to see people who have been long dead. She begins to believe the naughty ghosts of the deceased former governess and plantation foreman are trying to take possession of the children’s souls causing them to act in very adult ways. Laura also insists that the kids can see these specters just as she can and begins to lash out at them while becoming increasingly irrational. Are spooks really on the loose in the old coffee plantation? Are these dirty delusions all in her mind and a result of the convent-educated Laura’s sexual repression? Or is Miss Laura simply over-caffeinated by that good Brazilian java?
Through the Shadow is a steady-paced, atmospheric, suspenseful spooker that will keep you wondering at its final outcome. Lima leaves the movie’s conclusion up to the viewer to decide what really transpired on that aromatic coffee plantation. He employs some masterful shots and lighting tricks to tell his version of the classic ghost story well. Though there isn’t much horror involved in terms of gore or contrived jump scares, there are a few well-placed startles. Lima lets the writers and his directorial skill bring this scary tale to its conclusion while keeping the audience interested for 104 minutes.
Through the Shadow reminds me of the old Hollywood ghost/zombie stories from the ’30s and ’40s. Some scenes even seem to be a clever tip of the hat to White Zombie (1932) directed by Victor Halperin and starring Bela Lugosi. Obviously, there are clear nods to The Innocents starring Deborah Kerr as the governess in Jack Clayton’s film version of the James story.
Is Through the Shadow the best film version of The Turn of the Screw? No. I’d say that honor goes to the above-mentioned The Innocents but it is a solid effort and wonderful homage to classic Hollywood gothic tales. I’d totally watch this one again and recommend it to anyone who likes ghost stories that are light on scares, big on story, and not overly wordy (aside from the fact that it’s filmed in Portuguese with English subtitles).
