Maja (Josephine Park) and Leah (Ellie Kendrick) meet by chance in a bookstore in Denmark, and the two women start a whirlwind romance. As their love grows, they face challenges which threatens the relationship, such as serious medical conditions, an over-involved mother, and a dybbuk. Just in time for the High Holy Days, director Gabriel Bier Gislason
presents his debut film ATTACHMENT (Natten har øjne) a slow burn romantic horror which uses Jewish mysticism to explore the demons within.

Gislason takes his time developing the tension but manages to maintain a pretty consistent feeling of unease throughout the story. After dating for a only a few days, Leah must return to her home in London due to a medical condition. Maja follows her love across Europe where she meets her partner’s Orthodox Jewish mother. Maja senses the overbearing Chana (Sofie Gråbøl) does not approve of her daughter bringing women home, so Maja becomes determined to learn about Jewish culture in hopes of winning over Chana in the process. However, the longer Maja stays in the house and the more she learns about Kabbalah, the darker her situation becomes. Chana keeps secrets and goes to great measures to exclude Maja from Leah’s life. Every corner of the house seems to contain some form of magic and Maja feels as if something is watching her. The inclusion of Jewish superstitions brings a fresh type of horror to the screen as most audiences will experience terror outside of their own culture.

ATTACHMENT manages to avoid a lot of the predictable horror clichés, and part of this might be attributed to the fact the film focuses on a lesser represented culture in the genre. The storytelling will keep audiences engaged and the compelling cast of characters helps strengthen the well-written emotions and trauma displayed on screen. Spooky cinematography, a
haunting music score, and even a bit of humor all contributes to making ATTACHMENT a delightful fest find. So, mazel tov on your first feature length film, Gislason, and hopefully a sequel will bless us soon.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Amylou Ahava

Amylou Ahava is a PhD student and resident punk rocker. She has studied, taught, and annoyed landlords on three continents and hopes to add a fourth in the future. The childhood dream of being a horror host stemmed into a lifetime love of everything scary and now has led to a focus on disability studies in American horror literature and film. She has been teaching since 2009 and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. She is a pet parent of 7 and hobbies include horror movies, waffles, and books.

Latest posts by Amylou Ahava (see all)

Tags: Attachment, Dybbuk, Ellie Kendrick, Fantastic Fest 2022, Film Festivals, Gabriel Bier Gislason, Jewish horror, Josephine Park, Sofie Gråbøl