There are so many movies out there. The prudent horror fan knows not to be nickeled and dimed to death by renting/buying everything available, so you stick with a streaming service and take what they offer. That’s how I find many of the movies I discuss on this blog. It’s how I found Ayla. You won’t find much information on this indie, art-house horror beyond IMDb, and it doesn’t say much. Although the ratings are low the premise is good and it is beautifully filmed. It is a little weird, though. Elton, a mentally disturbed man, has never gotten over the death of his sister when she was four. He supports himself by working in a bookstore and has a regular girlfriend, Alex, but he hasn’t let his sister go. Going to a remote, dilapidated house that Alex showed him, he digs under a tree until he finds an adult Ayla.
Ayla’s alive but she doesn’t talk and can’t tolerate solid food. She seems to be part of the tree where Elton found her. His brother and mother tell him this woman isn’t his sister. Alex, who lost a brother when she was a child, doesn’t say whether Ayla’s Elton’s sister or not. Accepting that this woman now lives with him, she’s just not sure if the dead do come back. Elton quits his job and tries to move home with his mother, but it doesn’t work out. While driving at night, Ayla, ahem, distracts him, and his car hits a tree. Elton understands that Ayla has returned to the tree and begins digging for her, but doesn’t find her. Alex finds evidence that Elton has begun to turn into whatever it was “Ayla” is.
Apart from being a study of grief—very much like A Ghost Story in that way—Ayla also explores mental illness and incest. This is done with a high degree of artistry, however. Those who rate the movie poorly probably haven’t considered metaphors much. To me, there’s a lot going on in this film. It’s the kind of movie where you want to talk to somebody about it after it’s over. Was Ayla really a dryad? She’s found in a nymph (insect variety) state and quickly transforms to, apparently, Elton’s missing sister. Meanwhile, his family doesn’t give him the affirmation he requires. Metaphorically, it seems, like Outpost, to be a movie about dealing with trauma. Such films are well worth watching and pondering. And they make me thankful for streaming services that occasionally bring good, if obscure, movies to light.
