Summary
- Tilman Singer’s “Luz” questions classic possession narratives.
- Recent films such as “Evil Dead Rise” and “Immaculate”
Light
examines the interface between authority and rebellion in the subgenre of possession. - The film shows a parasitic creature that spreads among its hosts.
Tilman Singer is ready to become a household name in the horror world with his highly anticipated second film cuckoo. The first reviews are raving about the film, whose bizarre trailers have left cinemagoers wondering what it has to offer them. Singer’s first film may provide some clues Lightwhich just landed on Shudder. Guaranteed to blow viewers’ minds, this edgy, experimental possession tale finally steps out of the shadows at just the right time to join the ranks of recent demonic delights.
2018 Light gives new life to an old subgenre, featuring queer teenage girls who summon a ghost that haunts them into adulthood. Tilman’s provocative interpretation of the possession theme shows that it is essentially about identity: typical protagonists are independent young women torn between the forces of authoritarianism and anarchy, with the former usually represented by heroic priests, policemen and psychiatrists. More recent films such as Evil Dead – Rise of the Dead, ImmaculateAnd The first omen question this dichotomy in exciting new ways. The iconoclastic Light deserves to be counted among them.
Tilman Singer’s first film prepared him for a bright future in the horror genre
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Light was the young filmmaker’s final project at the Cologne Media Arts Academy, where he explored the boundaries of what a horror film can be. The story revolves around the police interrogation of the title character (Luana Velis) about the disappearance of a young woman. Luz is hypnotized by a psychiatrist (Jan Bluthardt), and her ritual recitation of her past with the missing Nora (Julia Riedler) summons a demon they encountered as teenagers. With this astonishing debut, Singer has bent the tools of filmmaking to his will, collapsing time and space and blending characters together as the possession spreads.
Although it deals with the well-known theme of demonic possession, Light is so crazy that Singer feared no one would see it. Singer’s bold experiment made him fear that Light would be forgotten. But it was during this painful period of doubt that the seeds of his successful new film Cuckoo began to germinate. Singer said:
I saw a documentary about cuckoos and how they reproduce and that they lay their eggs in the nests of other species of birds. And then I had this footage of host parents feeding a cuckoo chick that isn’t theirs. And they don’t leave their nests, they just keep going. And that was kind of beautiful – beautiful in a terrible way. I couldn’t let go of that image. After a while I thought: How do I project that onto people?
While Singer discussed the details of the cuckoohis reflection on a parasitic creature that spreads through unsuspecting hosts finds strong resonance in Light. The protagonist repeats a profane version of the Lord’s Prayer that infects all who hear it, including her high school friend Nora, the hypnotist Nora seduces, and the investigating police officer (the striking Nadja Stübiger). These characters merge their minds and swap bodies in an overwhelming, Gender change spectacle rarely seen in classic exorcism storieswhich usually reinforce the status quo.
Luz’s time has finally come
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Light is a rare treat, but some recent films have also challenged ownership stereotypes. For example 2023 Evil Dead – Rise of the Dead flipped the usual possession script by replacing the slant-chinned Ash with a mostly female punk family who unknowingly play a recording of the Necronomicon being read not by an anthropologist but by a priest. The film depicts women forging their own path in the face of conservative criticism, and it’s fitting that their ordeal is sparked by religious interference. By comparison: Light seems to reinforce the legitimacy of religion as evil is unleashed by young queer rebels. In reality, however, The film highlights the weakness and arrogance of traditional authority figures.
Twin sister movies Immaculate And The first omenreleased almost simultaneously in 2024, take this theme to the extreme with their parallel stories about strong-willed nuns. In the first film, Sydney Sweeney plays an American novice who learns the hard way about a conspiracy to breed a new Messiah using DNA extracted from the crucifixion nails. In the omen In the sequel, Nell Tiger Free falls victim to a similar conspiracy aimed at creating an Antichrist and driving the public back under the protection of the Church. As in Light, In these films, patriarchal control over women’s bodies is portrayed as a greater threat than demonic possession of their souls.
All these new stories of possession make female autonomy a weapon against authoritarianism. “Is this how you want to live your life? Is this really what you want?” is a battle cry that is repeated everywhere Light of characters who seem to speak for Tilman Singer. His subversive first film shows a highly original artist who is equally capable of grappling with tradition and transforming it into fresh new forms. His new film promises even greater coups, but until cuckoo hatches, Light awaits you on Shudder.
