Directed by Phil Joanou. Cinematography by Steeven Petitteville.
A problem with stories with have extended flashbacks is they steal urgency from the plot. 'The Veil' suffers from too many flashbacks which grinds the pacing of the story to a halt.
Joanou's strategy to create mood was to mute the colors. I imagine a knob in the editing room and he just kept turning it until the video was practically black and white. In the lower left of the shot below you can see a rocking chair sitting in the middle of the yard. Horror movies have really made rocking chair ominous right?
The crux of 'The Veil' is a group of documentations studying what turns out to be a suicide cult. These were
extremely popular at the turn of the
millennium. Think of them as goal-orientated YouTube personalities. The film incorporates plenty of religious imagery in scenes like the one below. Notice the positioning of the character on her knees in a prayer-like position.
This particular cult was not known for its
sophrosyne approach to religion as they recorded everything from religious ceremonies to breakfast. And here is what bugged me. The home footage shot by the cult looks like it was professionally shot and intricately edited. There are close ups, long shots, experimentation with camera angle, well above what you'd expect from a handheld home movie. It killed the mood and took me out of the film. Unless were assuming he a had a professional cinematographer as part of his cult. Maybe someone who flunked out of Corman's school.
The shot below was my favorite. We tend to use the sun and the rays of the sun as short hand for divinity. Below we get the feeling there is something bigger at work, as one of the lead characters is surrounded by the suns rays. They slice through the tree to protect her.
Not recommended. Most of the aesthetic choices hurt 'The Veil'. I think the bleaching of color detracted from the film and made if look bland and boring. The flashbacks were too many and lasted too long. The story never picks up pace or has any kind of flow, so you never can get lost in the world.
