Haunters of the Silence is an experimental folk horror nightmare

Haunters of the Silence certainly isn't for everyone. It's a wildly experimental film with folk horror elements. It's also a reaction to Tatu Heikkinen's struggles with sleep paralysis. Not only does he star in the film, but he co-wrote and co-directed it with his wife, Veleda Thorsson-Heikkinen. So, for Tatu especially, this is a very personal film that conjures a nightmarish vision of what sleep paralysis looks and feels like.

Tatu plays a character simply called K. In the opening minutes, he holds an urn filled with his wife's ashes, and as you may have guessed, Veleda plays his wife. We don't ever quite see her, but we do see various photos of her in K's home. Not only do grief and loss torment K, but so does a mysterious figure named the Hat Man (John Haughm). Almost every night, K sees him, looming over his bed or even chasing him through narrow sewer pipes. The Hat Man doesn't have a backstory, but he doesn't really need one. He looks like the tall and shadowy figures that those who suffer from sleep paralysis often report seeing. He's a constant, unsettling presence throughout the film's 70-minute runtime, and a rather frightening figure. No matter what K does, he can't shake him.

Meanwhile, the filmmaking couple have a way of making everyday images, like rain sliding down a window, or a spider, feel disorienting and chilling. As stated, this is quite an experimental film, but the artsy images reflect K's lack of sleep. The film will then shift and reground itself in the very human story about K's heartache and how much he misses his wife. It's a nice counterbalance to the imagery. He actually doesn't talk to anyone in the film, but when the camera pans to a picture of his wife, the loss feels profound.

Meanwhile, the indie movie has plenty of folk horror elements. The natural world features heavily, especially the rural, woodsy area surrounding K's home. The frequent shots of gnarled trees or the leaves that fill the frame make the setting feel so alive and maybe even sinister, as if the natural world is in on the Hat Man's plan to constantly haunt K. There's this sense that there's a presence lurking just outside of K's door, though we never quite see it. Yet even security camera footage of a bear on its hind legs just feels uncanny.

Haunters of the Silence is not a film concerned with narrative logic and moving through scenes in chronological order. Instead, this is very much a movie about mood and tone. This feels about as close as a film can come to depicting the terrors of sleep paralysis. The Hat Man is an eerie and unrelenting villain, and the natural world feels like it may swallow K whole, if he doesn't lose himself in his grief first. For those who like movies that are different, weird, and speculative, give Haunters of the Silence a stream.

Currently, Haunters of the Silence is available to watch for free on Tubi.

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