The Binding

 1.5/4

Starring: Mia Maestro, Ricardo Scamarcio, Giulia Patrignani, Mariella Lo Sardo, Raffaella D'Avella

Not Rated (probable R for Horror Violence, Sexuality and Brief Strong Language)

I picked "The Binding" from Netflix almost on impulse.  I was looking for a 2020 horror movie and this was the first one that popped up.  It opened with promise: bloodcurdling screams can be heard against a black screen and the title, followed by what appears to be some sort of ritual.  Cue credits.

Unfortunately, that strong beginning is all the film really has going for it.  This is a lame horror movie about possession that plays safe at every turn.  There are few surprises, and of the that work, it's because director Domenico Emanuele de Feudis manages, on occasion, to craft a decent shock.  Not always, but once or twice.

Emma (Maestro) is traveling to the Italian countryside with her daughter Sofia (Patrignani) and her fiancé Francesco (Scamarcio) to meet his mother, Teresa (Lo Sardo).  They're welcoming, but their odd behavior unnerves Emma.  When Sofia is bitten by a spider and catches Teresa and her maid Sabrina (D'Avella) performing a strange rite on the girl, she's had enough.  Of course, it's not that simple.

"The Binding," allegedly based on superstition found in Southern Italy, is cobbled together from bits and pieces of other demonic possession movies.  All of these movies are similar to one degree or another, so that doesn't bother me so much.  Or at least it wouldn't if it was put together with skill.  Unfortunately, the screenplay isn't worth the paper it's written on and the direction is sloppy.  There's no atmosphere to speak of and very little menace.  The characters are so undeveloped that it's hard to care about them.

Taking center stage is Mia Maestro, who manages to create a character that gains our sympathy despite hand an underwritten role.  She has warmth and a natural screen presence.  And boy, does the camera love her.  That's more than can be said about her co-stars.  Ricardo Scamarcio is so dull that unless he's on screen, I forgot he was in it.  Giulia Patrignani is okay as the Regan clone, although she doesn't have much to do other than act sickly and scream.

Director Domenico Emanuele de Faudis apparently decided that the best way to tell this story was with zero flair.  There's no style evident.  And try as he might, he can't generate an ominous atmosphere.  This is a flat motion picture with very few moments that gave me the heebie-jeebies.  Oh sure, he gives it a game try, but rustling trees don't have the same effect.  Timing and lighting are essential for that.  When he does show his cards, the effect is often lost because shots are poorly framed and the editing never allows the tension to come across.

Hollywood has been rightly criticized for churning out movies left and right that are carbon copies of the one that came out before.  Now foreign films are doing the same thing.  Not a good sign.

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