Over the past decade, the horror genre has undergone a radical change from the tendencies that dominated it in the early years of the century. A new generation of authors has crafted some of the most original material in years, thanks to smarter screenplays, stronger characters, and arguments drawn from real-life concerns. Aspects such as the supernatural, gory violence and scares are still ubiquitous, only this time around Jennifer Kent’s films (The Babadook, the Nightingale), Jordan Peele (Go away, we, no), Arie Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), or Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the black rainbow, Mandy) contain stronger narrative and visual compositions.
One of the tendencies that emerged around the early 2010s was the psychedelic horror movie. Enter the void (2009) and Beyond the black rainbow (2010) are some examples of how the genre began to resort to trippy visuals, hallucinatory sequences and dark psychological storylines. Besides these movies comes along A field in Englandthe fourth feature film by English filmmaker Ben Wheatley, set in yes… you guessed it… a field in England.
After a group of deserters from the English Civil War are ambushed by an alchemist who tricks them into eating psychedelic mushrooms, madness ensues and the day turns into a hellish trip of paranoia. Using very simple tricks, Wheatley creates a masterpiece of modern horror, one that deserves more attention because it stands out among its contemporaries for several reasons.
Martin Pavey’s sound design
Martin Pavey’s fantastic sound design uses agonizing cries of pain with no sight of what’s going on, moans of a man trying to poop, and the grunts of men pulling a rope for nearly two full minutes. The film is filled with sound disturbances that create cognitive dissonance and a sense of unease through repetition. Dialogue, score and the wind through the field are all intertwined and almost melt together in the moments when the tension rises, increasing the fear and terror experienced by the characters.
Farming a field in England
Before A field in England begins, a warning of strong strobe effects precedes the movie, and it doesn’t exaggerate. As the movie progresses you might think the warning was in vain and then… here they come. Mirroring and folding of images, repetition of sequences, strong strobe images and a black round object blocking the sun with waves of darkness in it. The editing can be blindingly daring at times.
Cinematography
Beautifully executed (and unexpectedly low budget) black and white cinematography by Laurie Rose heightens the weirdness. As the story becomes more and more disjointed (parallel to the psychedelics taking more and more effect on the characters), the monochrome works perfectly because it even creates dissonance with certain notions of what is considered psychedelic. The typical shiny colors and dynamic camera movements of trippy psychedelic cinema are nowhere to be seen; the darkness must be faced head-on, while the hallucinatory madness continues.
Ben Wheatley offers how and why
Why? Yeah, that’s not the right question approaching this movie; it is one that will only cause frustration. Despite the very simple character arcs, A field in England is never about why things happen, it’s about how. The film is more concerned with developing its visual language than with storytelling. It doesn’t stop at explaining things – once the journey has begun, it will follow a crescendo. Given the topic, coherence is understandably thrown out the window here in favor of nonsensical confusion.
The ambiguity in terms of where the film is headed accentuates the bad times the characters face. This sometimes makes it seem like this harrowing experience will never end, or that it may have been happening all along…
Language
Despite being set in the 17th century, Amy Jump’s brilliant script doesn’t set out to make for a historically accurate period movie. A clever mix of vintage English with what appear to be modern indentations and accents creates another unsettling aspect within the layers of conceptual and visual chaos: the film is as gruesome as it is hilarious. Filled with comedic one-liners, awkward situations, and constant mockery between the protagonists, this also sets the movie apart from the standardized idea of what a horror movie is, creating even more incoherence and dissonance that add to the psychedelic experience.
Interpreting a field in England
The constant use of the phrase “let the devil in” and the ambiguous ending have led to a theory about the nature of the plot, as many believe that the film is set in Purgatory and that the hardships they endure will make their way be to heaven. This may not be very relevant when watching or enjoying A field in Englandbut it adds another layer to the film’s wildness, and one that makes a lot of sense.
The constant mentions of God controlling one’s destiny, the characters’ morality (or lack thereof) toward duty (all having fled the battlefield), and the satanic overtones of the adversary suggest that something else may be going on .
finally, A field in England turns out to be quite a unique movie; from its sly dialogue to its hallucinatory pace, this movie isn’t as highly regarded as it probably should be in this day and age of so-called lofty horror. While the criticisms of the story and cohesion may be justified, the imagery and originality in the delivery stand out, making it a worthy entry into the canon of psychedelic nightmares of film history.