Nancy Vandergroot (Nicole Kidman), the dewy-eyed protagonist of Mimi Cave’s sophomore feature Holland, has a tendency to somersault to conclusions. At the start of this stylish but plodding film, which premiered at SXSW ahead of its March 27 release on Prime Video, the suburban mother loses a pearl earring. Her husband Fred (a chilling Matthew Macfadyen) suggests she check her junk drawer or the jars housing her craft supplies. Nancy, convinced of her own theories, accuses her son’s tutor, Candy (Rachel Sennott), of theft and promptly fires the befuddled high-school student. 

This is a clever introduction to Nancy because later, when she conscripts her friend Dave (Gael García Bernal) to help her investigate whether or not Fred is having an affair, you can’t help but wonder if Nancy might be jumping to conclusions again. Of course anyone familiar with Cave, whose directorial debut Fresh established her as a filmmaker to watch, will know that Fred, the town’s ophthalmologist, is certainly hiding a secret. The real question is what kind. 

Working from a screenplay by Andrew Sodroski, Cave constructs a visually compelling answer to this question. Holland boasts striking advancements in the director’s style and committed performances from Kidman, Macfadyen and Bernal, but these qualities can’t quite save a narrative fundamentally confused about its purpose. Sodroski’s story hinges on a single, shocking twist that, once revealed (more than two-thirds of the way into the film), hampers instead of helps the third act. It squanders the deftly calibrated anxious suspense, turning Holland into a study of suburban paranoia and domestic isolation that slackens over time.

Before Nancy became suspicious of her husband, she lived contentedly as a home economics teacher and devoted wife in their small town. It’s sometime in the early aughts and Cave opens Holland with a charmed testimonial about the lakefront Michigan locale. Nancy, through voiceover, describes a harmonious existence characterized by her loving family, their stately white home and the annual tulip festival. Cave juxtaposes this supposed serenity with a technicolor aesthetic that establishes an uneasy surrealism. There’s a dreamy quality to each scene, which destabilizes confidence in what’s real. 

Below the pristine surface of Nancy’s life, secrets fester. She suspects Fred’s infidelity after a series of small discoveries, and confides in Dave, a shop teacher at the high school where she works. He harbors a faint crush on her and, in an irrational and lovelorn frenzy, agrees to help her snoop.

The early parts of their adventure possess the feverish quality of new and illicit experiences. It also awakens Nancy from a life she likens to carbon monoxide poisoning — slow and comforting in its kill. This is not the first time Kidman has played a woman rebelling against the gilded confines of her existence, so the actress delivers a reliably fine performance. She vacillates frantically between Nancy’s public performance of innocence and a more subdued desire for risk, giving the character an enticing and unpredictable edge. 

As Nancy and Dave continue to gather evidence, Nancy’s anxieties balloon. She has nightmares about her son Harry (Jude Hill) in danger and imagines herself as a stilted figurine in the intricate diorama her husband has been working on in the garage. She also starts sleeping with Dave and is plagued by complicated feelings around this affair.

The real star of Holland is Cave’s style, which builds a disturbing portrait of suburban unease. Partnering with Fresh cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski again, the director renders that state as a fever dream defined by claustrophobic shots, frenetic crosscuts and dizzying tilts and pans. Composer Alex Somers (Nickel Boys) adds to this tension by punctuating the ethereal foundation of his score with foreboding elements. All of these choices root us in Nancy’s unsettled psyche, upending earlier assumptions about her personality. 

Unfortunately, Cave’s uncanny portrayal of Nancy’s emotional and physical world struggles against the confusion of a scattered story. Bernal gives a strong turn as Dave, especially as the teacher’s determination to protect Nancy mutates into an excited obsession. There’s evidence early on that this character has moved to Holland for a fresh start, but the film never returns to that plot point. A similar fate befalls a thread that touches on the xenophobia suppurating right beneath the town’s genteel exterior and the significance of the tulip festival.

Too many of these instances weigh on Holland as it plods along, somewhat unsteadily, under the weight of abandoned storylines. The big reveal alleviates some of the pressure, but the shock of it comes a little too late, and what proceeds to unfold in the third act feels like a film disappointedly letting out almost all its air.

William Instone and Matt Rifely joined forces to create a great slasher movie, Butcher’s Bluff. Though it is my favorite subgenre, I still have limits. Butcher’s Bluff checked almost every box for me. Butcher’s Bluff has all you need to enjoy an absurdly good slasher movie. Everything I love about slashers came to life here, and I was left a feral young kid again, soaking up some over-the-top kills.

Let’s get into the review.

Synopsis

When four college students set out to investigate the legend of the Hogman for their film thesis, they expect to uncover little more than small-town folklore. But as they dig deeper into the dark history of Emerald Falls, they realize the brutal killer may be more than just a myth. Wearing a grotesque hog mask, the Hogman is a relentless force of terror, hunting down anyone who crosses into his domain. As the students’ project turns into a desperate fight for survival, they must unravel the truth behind the blood-soaked legend before they become his next victims.

Packed with gruesome kills, intense suspense, and a heavy dose of ’80s slasher nostalgia, Butcher’s Bluff delivers a wild, gore-filled ride that horror fans won’t want to miss.

The Rundown

Butcher’s Bluff is part of a movement over the past few years to bring back the spirit of the ’80s slasher. Searching for premarital sex and lots of mind-altering substances. The plot is pretty basic, but how in-depth should it get? I see a lot of complaints about that Slasher movie magic lately. We have evolved as a genre to be a little snobby sometimes. The horror genre needs movies like Butcher’s Bluff because it doesn’t stray far from what it should be. Lately, we just can’t let people enjoy things. The era of the armchair critic is here, and it’s after films like this that we are trying to end a legacy of what many of us grew up on.

Butcher’s Bluff takes you somewhere else for a few hours, somewhere familiar and comforting in a twisted way. Are the acting and story phenomenal? Not exactly, but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes a film can be silly and simple, it gives us that escape from reality for a while. The artistry in the film shows that someone has done their homework on slasher movies. Butcher’s Bluff meets all the criteria of a legendary slasher. Just like Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger, Hogman deserves his recognition. Horror does not need to win Oscars; as a matter of fact, the best horror creators stay far away from awards.

In The End

Butcher’s Bluff has the perfect mix of cringey moments you have to imagine yourself and tasteful gore. There didn’t need to be any over-the-top kills here like we see in Terrifier. Butcher’s Bluff is on its spectrum from modern movies.

I will always support the indie scene because there are so many films like Butcher’s Bluff that do not get the recognition they deserve. The only box that wasn’t checked on my list was the length. Butcher’s Bluff runs a little long at a stern 2 hours, and after a while, you have to fight getting distracted because almost everything happens at once. There are not too many slow and menacing instances, and oddly, that’s OK with me.

Normally, I am the first to complain or notice a squirrel while watching a slasher movie at this length. It was easy to fight off with this film because you feel the love and excitement. Butcvher’s Bluff was made out of pure love and holds a fantastic cast, including a special appearance by Jeremy London (Mallrats, 1995) and starring Bill Oberst Jr. (3 From Hell, 2019).

Give yourself a break and have a good time with Butcher’s Bluff, and if you live in the woods… Leave the light on.