Pretty

Horror films are often a fantastic jumping-off point for new and upcoming filmmakers to show what they’re all about. They’re often relatively cheap to make, they can draw on an amazing catalogue of old and modern classics for inspiration, and have an avid fanbase that would rival, if not beat out, most other genres. But it’s easy to copy and paste the hits. To truly stand out, one needs to take a big swing. And although it’s not without its issues, Pretty from writer and director Metecan Duren swings hard and true.

While walking home with her friend Tom (Gursoy), our protagonist, Pretty (Kihtir), is drawn to a nearby building by a woman’s faint voice. Tom hears nothing, and while Pretty herself can’t see this entity either, she can certainly feel and hear her just beyond the door, trapped somewhere in the space in between life and death.

Eventually pulled away by Tom, they arrive home to be greeted at the door by Pretty’s big sister Emma (Sara Duren), who instantly questions their closeness. Later, Emma cruelly derides Pretty for her fancies about a relationship with Tom, or anyone, for that matter. No one could ever, or will ever, love her. So, when a mysterious stranger begins messaging Pretty, despite all the warning signs, she is drawn straight in by the attention. But as their relationship grows, Pretty starts to be haunted by strange rabbit-masked figures, dangerous killers and an obsession as to how it all connects to what happened to the girl behind the door.

Pretty presents a complex and compelling concept, mixing a mystery thriller with supernatural elements and some masked-killer slasher fare for good measure, at times going places you don’t expect. However, in trying to keep the audience on its toes, it does convolute itself into a bit of a muddle at times, though it always seems to right itself again eventually. There are continuity errors, lighting flits between day and night in the same scene many times, and while one can always keep up with the general narrative, there are a few moments of “Wait...what? How did we get here?”.

But Duren films the absolute hell out of this; from a visual and technical perspective, the film is almost completely flawless. Almost every single frame is given the utmost care, effort, time and composure, giving the film a consistently brilliant atmosphere and a fair few genuinely tense and scary moments it deserves. It is truly beautiful to watch, and at just nineteen years old, it proves that Duren just has it when it comes to cinematography.

Moving forward, however, stronger direction in performances is a must, as Pretty suffers greatly from flat performances almost entirely across the board. The dialogue itself seems sound on the page, but with the exception of Sara Duren, who actually manages to inject some real life into Emma, the rest of the cast is rarely able to truly act the moment. Granted, these aren’t actors per se, but a film like this can often live or die on its cast. If this film were about thirty minutes shorter, which it probably could and should be, it might have been able to pass by more unnoticed, but at over two hours, these often-numb characters get harder and harder to connect with or root for.

Despite its performance, pacing and continuity issues, things that can of course be tightened up with time, Pretty ultimately lands right side up, and overall, there is definitely more than enough exceptional talent and execution of ideas in other areas of the film to make it worth your while.