A Wounded Fawn is a kind of movie that’s 50/50 with me and my logical brain. There’s a lot of weird, surreal imagery and ponderous meaning that risked my attention and patience. But I think they knew what they were doing and the imagery makes sense viewed at the right angle, so I’ll allow it!

The film is a curious Shudder original about a new couple vacationing in a house in the deep, dark woods. She’s an antiquities dealer, he’s a lunatic. And soon we are subjected to what his lunatic mind sees… or possibly the poetic repercussions of his lunacy.

This is a surreal horror film that has a tangential relationship with reality. It’s a boat-full of Greek mythological tomfuckery that may or may not be happening, depending on how you interpret the film. Whatever is going on is certainly head-scratching, sinister, and creepy.

Whether this works for you will depend on how much patience you have for intentionally surreal storytelling. If you can go with it and if you can interpret the Greek mythological angle, you might like it a lot. I was a little iffy on the details of the mythology but I could see the Greek Tragedy unfurling.

I think the final moments of the film sold me. There’s a casual reveal and then the camera just hangs there on a startling, animated shot which plays through the full end credits. Just the sound of flailing on the soundtrack. It’s pretty bold and generates a visceral, emotional mood.

I wasn’t sold on every minute of this film… it does seem to run a little long before finally getting to the point. But I rather enjoyed what it was ultimately doing. It didn’t always make sense, but I bet it holds up on rewatch. Pretty good werido film.

Score: 82