Dead Northern 2022 Festival Review – The Lies of Our Confines

Steeped in righteous social commentary and deeply rooted ordeals is The Lies of Our Confines. Enlisting the alarming fundamentals of horror, along with the genre’s innate platform for distinctive allegories to thrive is Leon Oldstrong’s latest film, merging epic supernatural components, with eye-catching cinematography and a witty narrative that will always leave the viewer guessing what’s going to happen next. 

Oldstrong’s filmmaking methods, whether that be the exterior of sound, vision, and setting, or whether that be the interior basking in the film’s moral alignments and narrative compass, he belongs in the canon of the most exciting, indie filmmakers out there. The Lies of Our Confines is a refreshing take on creating authentic stories, made by black people that go against the grain, and oppose the need for creating cyclical urban narratives with contentious negative stereotypes. Films such as The Ritual (2017) and Midsommar (2019) are of course outstanding feats in their own rights, but a key development missing from the ever rising popularity of nature based horror is representation. 

Continuously filling the screen with monotonous assemblies only weakens the potential for undiscovered talent to arise. The Lies of Our Confines breathes new life into neo-folk horror through re-envisioning filmic barriers and creating a form of escapism for an audience who are denied an identity within heavy genre cinema. 

Oldstrong himself states that “I’ve had enough of watching content told by the same voices and always seeing the same type of people on screen”.

Additionally within the discourse of refreshing cinema is the film’s enigmatic scenery, enthusiastic visuals and polished cinematic value that goes above and beyond and proves that indie horror can be just as enriched and masterful as any widely funded blockbuster. The film understands the power within the woodland-based ambience to both highlight the intrepid advances that the natural earth holds; enhanced by the magnifying performances from the likes of Tobi King Bakare, Chadrack Mbuini, Braulio Chimbembe, Abdul Jaloh, and Enrique Borico. Even in accompaniment of contemporary discourses, the sheer stillness yet eeriness that rural auras hold is truly one of the many components that make The Lies of Our Confines so memorable and a must watch through to the core. 

Check out the film and much more at this years festival, tickets here…