At the elite girls’ boarding school Brangwyn, housed in an old hotel, eerie new student Ernessa (Lily Cole) disrupts the dynamics between a close group of friends including Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) who is coming to terms with a family tragedy. Inspired by her reading of gothic literature in English class, Rebecca starts to suspect that Ernessa’s powers to corrupt may be supernatural. Are the odd and violent events that begin to occur accidents, or is Ernessa exerting a menacing power over the girls? Can Rebecca save her best friend from the influence of this creepy and suspiciously talented new student before it’s too late? Mary Harron’s modern gothic thriller, based on the novel by Rachel Klein, skirts the line between horror film and psychological study while making full use of the atmospheric possibilities of its setting.


TRAILER

Canada/Ireland, 2011. 82 min. Written by Mary Harron. Photographed by Declan Quinn. With Lily Cole, Sarah Gadon, Judy Parfitt, Scott Speedman. IFC Films.
Tickets $9 for SFFS members, $11 general, $10 senior/student/disabled. Box office opens July 13 online at sffs.org and in person at SF Film Society Cinema.