‘Went Up the Hill’ review: Yet another horror film about grief

For all its stunning visuals and impressive lead performances, Went Up the Hill doesn’t bring anything new to the horror genre.

If you’re worried that Samuel Van Grinsven’s sophomore film, Went Up the Hill, is a horror adaptation of the classic children’s nursery rhyme, rest assured that all is alright. There is no evil, bottomless well, or broken crown that causes insanity. There is only Jack, Jill, and a hill that’s more there for its symbolism than for climbing. 

Went Up the Hill is a ghost story that focuses more on intimate connection than jump scares. The film follows Jack (Dacre Montgomery), who is traveling to the funeral of his estranged mother, Elizabeth, who was forced to give him up when he was a child. He claims he was invited by his mother’s wife, Jill (Vicky Krieps), but she has no recollection of ever making that call. That’s because Elizabeth’s ghost is very much present in her empty house and has the power of possession, taking over Jill’s body whenever she falls asleep.

Over the next few nights, Jack and Jill both experiment with Elizabeth’s possession of each other’s bodies as a way to connect with her. Jack is trying to know the mother he was denied, and Jill is too knee-deep in grief to properly let her go. But Elizabeth’s reins start to tighten, and soon both Jack and Jill are trying to get their autonomy back.

The ghost of you.

Photo Credit: Greenwich Entertainment.

With the precise eye of cinematographer Tyson Perkins, Went Up the Hill has some beautiful camerawork, particularly when Elizabeth’s house is made a character of its own. With its sharp, brutalist corners and dreary gray hues, the house feels like death incarnate. The walls always look like they’re closing in on the characters despite the large open spaces. 

Van Grinsven has cool ideas about trauma and autonomy, and they work for the most part. Elizabeth is never seen in the film and uses Jack and Jill as a way to inflict her abuse on them.  So having these vessels act out her horrific bidding is both disturbing and heartbreaking. There’s one particular scene where Elizabeth significantly takes away the consent of one of the characters and uses her manipulation in such an unforgivable way. 

But for a film that’s so focused on intimacy, its characters leave a bit to be desired. Montgomery and Krieps shine in their roles, playing victims unknowingly stuck in this cycle of abuse, but their characters as a whole feel one-dimensional. Van Grinsven gives us crumbs of their pasts, but nothing substantial to chew on, nothing to give the audience a complete picture of who these people are. 

The bottom line.

There has been a substantial amount of “grief horror” these last couple of years, and sadly, Went Up the Hill is just another entry. There’s nothing terrible about it, but there’s nothing that makes it stand out in an already bloated genre.  

Went Up the Hill is now playing in select theaters. Watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment. 

Yasmin Kleinbart