Director: George Popov
Writer: George Popov, Jonathan Russell (Screenplay)
Starring: Daniel Oldroyd, Suzie Frances Garton, Amy Tyger, Jonathan Lawrence Risdon, Bobby Robertson
Plot: A man returns from the military in search for his lost sister, who mysteriously went missing around the time of a strange traditional festival called ‘The Droving’.
Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Suspenseful
Story: The Droving starts as Martin (Oldroyd) returns home from a military stint in search for his sister Megan (Tyger) who has gone missing, Tess (Garton) gives Martin the information she knows about, which includes a strange festival that was happening at the same time, which sees Martin starting his investigation.
As Martin heads into the wilderness, he starts to learn about the locals, with some offering clues, while others teach him about the ritual that is meant to be happening soon, each step is giving Martin the clues to what might have happened to Megan.
Thoughts on The Droving
Characters – Martin is a soldier that is going in search for his missing sister, he is trained in military defence which gets highlight in how he deals with threats and will push the limits in looking for answers, as we learn more about his past when he was in the services. Tess is the friend that gives Martin an update with what she does know about Megan’s disappearance, she is clear with everything that she knows. Megan is the sister that has done missing, we learn about her more from Martin knowing how she thinks and in flashback of their times together. We do meet other people that could offer clues along the way for Martin.
Performances – Daniel Oldroyd in the leading role is the star of the show, he carries the film with his delivery, which will make you a mix of scared and respect for his character through the film. When it comes to the rest of the cast, they all do a good job as they will being filling in the story through the film.
Story – The story here follows a soldier that goes in search of sister after she went missing, his investigation takes him into a festival which will see him diving into superstitions. When we look at this story, the best way to describe it would be to say it has the same feeling as ‘The Kill List’ with how it seems to start very normal, before diving into the supernatural incidents. The story is explained in the way that Martin will learn things, does help us question everything we are learning, even if it does also fall into the story telling style of, go here, then here, learn this, go here, see this person, learn more. It does keep it simple to follow and does balance the lines between reality and superstitions.
Mystery – The mystery in this film comes from seeing how Martin is trying to learn the truth about his sister, we learn like he does and it will go in a direction that he wasn’t expecting.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show us how village can still believe in strange beliefs which will see them being unwelcoming to strangers, add an air of tension to the film.
Scene of the Movie – The Hermit chat.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The dumb kid’s behavior.
Final Thoughts – This is a suspenseful mystery that does keep us guessing through the film, we will be left wondering what did and will happen as the investigation continues.
Overall: Erie Thriller.
