Nails

Nails is an Irish horror that follows the story of Dana (Shauna Macdonald), the victim of a hit and run that leaves her paralysed and dependent on a respirator to breath. She is taken to a hospital to recover where she starts feeling uneasy and discovers her room is haunted by an evil spirit. While the premise of the plot is one common to the genre, certain decisions prevent this from being a completely clichéd scary movie.

Directed by Dennis Bartok, Nails begins as all great horror films do, with the perfect mix of mystery and intensity. This opening is made suspenseful through the use of gripping music and slow movement, putting the viewer on the edge of their seat from the start. This has a lot to do with the score, which is one of the film’s best assets. It works to capture the emotions on screen and at times is the scariest element of a scene. Unfortunately, the flick’s climax falls short of being worthy of the build up, however, the narrative does fulfil the promise of scaring the audience, through certain jump scares and the gruesome depiction of the character of Nails. His physique is further highlighted through close ups of grotesque limbs that work to add to the fear the protagonist has of him.

The performance given by Shauna Macdonald is a highlight, as she embodies the pain of someone trapped in their own body. The strain heard when she talks is extraordinary, showing the talent she has as an actress. Even though characters normally seen in the horror narrative are not easy to relate to, the pain shown through Dana is universal – the feeling of being alone and isolated, which adds an interesting dynamic to the character. Overall, Nails does deliver some scares and a plot that keeps the audience interested, but lacks some necessary drama when at the climax.  

Manisha Sondhi

Nails is released nationwide on16^th June 2017.

Watch the trailer for Nails here: