Review: ‘Lavender’ is a Haunting Psychological Thriller

Lavender is a 2016 psychological thriller written and directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly (The Last Exorcism Part II, This Beautiful City) and co-written by Colin Frizzell. The film was released March 3, 2017 in theaters, Digital HD, and VOD by AMBI Media Group and Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Lavender follows photographer Jane (Abbie Cornish: RoboCop, Seven Psychopaths) as she searches the countryside for old abandoned houses to photograph. During one of her drives, Jane and her daughter, Alice (Lola Flanery: The Mist TV Series, Mary Kills People) stop at a house in the middle of a field that Jane is inexplicably drawn to. As she gets out to begin photographing, her daughter wonders off and has a conversation with an unseen entity.

A short time after the strange encounter, Jane is involved in a car wreck and suffers memory loss. With the help of a psychiatrist (Justin Long: Tusk, Drag Me to Hell), her husband, Alan (Diego Klattenhoff: The Blacklist, Homeland), and clues from the house she discovered, she begins to gain her memory back and uncover family secrets. The secrets include what really happened in the events leading up to the gruesome deaths of her family when she was young. Jane also reconnects with her uncle, Patrick (Dermot Mulroney: Shameless, Insidious: Chapter 3), in hopes of finding out what really happened in her past.

I will admit that I expected Lavender to be a tad predictable when I first read the premise. However, once the film started diving into the family mysteries and showed a different side to a couple of the main characters, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoy a few twists and turns that I don’t see coming, and that’s exactly what I got. Brendan Steacy did a great job with the cinematography, allowing the old house and field to take on a character of its own. Both the opening scene and action scenes towards the end were beautifully shot, although gut-wrenching at times.

The performances of the young actresses (Flanery, Peyton Kennedy as Young Jane, and Sarah Abbott as Susie) were absolutely fantastic. They truly drove the storyline home and brought on the most emotional scenes throughout the film. Aside from a few moments of awkward dialogue and delivery, the four main actors had great chemistry, with it all mainly hinging on Abbie Cornish. I especially enjoyed her scenes with Justin Long, which went in quite an unexpected direction.

While Lavender isn’t exactly groundbreaking, there is a lot here that the film gets right. If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers that involve a supernatural twist, I think you’ll find it worth the watch.