An ambitious film that covers many areas, such as dystopian sci-fi, gothic fairy tales, and folk horror, just to name a few, Glasshouse manages to weave most of them together while also focusing on a family unit. While there are times when the director and actors juggle too much at once, they succeed more often than not and, in the process, spin an interesting tale.
Glasshouse focuses on a family living in a completely sealed glasshouse, which is necessary to protect them from the Shred, a dementia/memory loss-like toxin that has poisoned the air. The family grows crops, follows certain rituals and rules, and is always on guard, ready to protect what they have from others.
However, an injured stranger is allowed in, breaking the most important rule, and things fall apart quickly. Many secrets that were kept, or truths that were conveniently ignored, come out, and everything changes forever.
It’s an interesting premise, and director Kelsey Egan effectively sets the stage to execute the story. As co-writer alongside Emma Lungiswa De Wet, Egan also has a hand in the dialogue. While some interesting ideas are bandied about, it’s also intriguing to digest what isn’t being said, buried, or ignored.
The family unit, led by the mother (Adrienne Pearce), focuses mainly on the two daughters, Evie (Anja Taljaard) and Bee (Jessica Alexander). The two daughters have a heavy load of responsibility thrust on their shoulders, including watching out for the youngest daughter, Daisy (Kitty Harris), and brother, Gabe (Brent Vermeulen), who was exposed to the toxin and a constant reminder to all what can happen if they are not careful.
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Walking into this family unit is an injured stranger (Hilton Pelser) who changes everything through his own actions and questions the family’s truths, rules, and rituals. The tension builds nicely slowly here, as Pelser constantly weaves back and forth between a man of seemingly dark and deadly actions and one who speaks truths that some do not want to hear. The stress and tension are effective, and the entire cast, especially Pelser, Alexander, and Taljaard, does a great job building upon it.
The film has a great visual look, with the inside of the house never seeming warm or having enough light, adding to an already constrained situation. With the glasshouse being their sanctuary, the family is used to dealing with threats from without, not within, and it shows as they struggle to deal with the chaos that ensues.
There are times when the film struggles, though. There are moments where characters seemingly ignore the obvious, and interaction between characters seems forced or unrealistic. There are reasons why this stranger was allowed to live, but he seemed to have too much freedom too quickly, according to the rules they supposedly adhere to in their everyday lives.
In the end, though, Glasshouse works. The Shred may hit too close to home in terms of what’s going on in real life, but the film goes past that premise to dive deeper into the human condition. This includes how we react to change, which we all struggle with, and family dynamics.
Glasshouse recently had its premiere at Fantasia Film Fest 2021.
