Review: Horror, Arts Centre Melbourne

Horror presented by Arts Centre Melbourne. Photo by Sanne Peper.

Full blown horror rarely translates well to the stage. There are of course a few exceptions; Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd can still create shock with its titular razor wielding murderous barber and classic ghost story The Woman in Black has been spooking audiences in London for thirty years. But consistently creating suspense and terror in an audience at a live theatrical performance is a challenge. Physical theatre maker Jakop Ahlbom mostly succeeds where others have failed with his entertaining love letter to the genre simply titled Horror. This unique piece has no dialogue and instead uses an ingenious combination of mime, movement and dazzling special effects to tell a rather clichéd story riddled with overt references to horror classics such as The Shining, The Ring, Evil Dead, Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist to name but a few.

The plot, like most horror movies, is simple; a young woman returns to her creepy childhood home in the woods with her partner and friend in tow. As soon as they settle in they are haunted by the vengeful spirits of her deceased sister, mother and father. Her dark past threatens to destroy her future and kill anyone who gets in the way. Things go bump in the night, limbs fly and blood flows (well gushes) before the evening is through.

This production has been touring the world for the past year or so, having recently played seasons in Sydney and Canberra, and the experience shows. Horror is a well-oiled machine with the talented ensemble of eight performers working effortlessly in conjunction with the numerous special effects and clever stage design. Almost every element on stage is perfectly in sync in order to create this rollercoaster ride of thrills and chills.

The beautifully realised set is crammed with all the trappings of classic horror; creepy wardrobes, mouldy walls and even a fog-filled forest. The performers often seem to appear and disappear out of nowhere via ingeniously hidden passages and doorways creating a mostly consistent sense of tension and unease throughout the show. There are so many tricks and effects in Horror and the technical achievements on display are truly incredible. The lighting and sound designs are integral to the effectiveness of the gimmicks and they work a bloody treat. Ahlbom is clearly a huge horror movie fan and the techniques he employs throughout are unashamedly cinematic. Horror is chock-full of quick blackouts, fun jump scares and loud blasts from the soundtrack. The accomplished physical skill of the performers really helps to sell the story as well. They move around the stage with dexterity creating instantly recognisable characterisations without saying a word. The actor who portrays the ghost of the sister (a specific cast list wasn’t provided) twists and contorts her body in some astonishing ways. At one point she even does the classic ‘spider walk’ from The Exorcist! It really is like watching a big budget scary supernatural film come to life in front of your eyes.

After a promising start Horror does start to run out of steam a little bit. The early moments of suspense are mostly abandoned for overly choreographed moments of action that come off more awkward than exciting. There are also several sequences where ‘live’ video footage is employed, I assume as a nod to the popular found footage subgenre, however the on-stage actions rarely match the video so these moments aren’t very effective. The constant underscoring in the sound design also becomes a bit tiresome; some moments of silence would help restore some much needed tension to the proceedings.

Horror is a spectacular achievement in stage magic and will leave you wondering how they achieved the incredible special effects on display. Could it be scarier? Yes, but horror nuts and younger audiences will find much to scream about.