At one point in this found-footage paganistic slasher from British director Matthew Butler-Hart, Thea (Ellie Duckles), one of a pair of stereotypically annoying YouTubers, ironically performs the “I’m so sorry” monologue from the Blair Witch Project to camera. Dagr also comes prefaced with a Blair Witch-style opening statement that it has been cobbled together from their final footage. But Butler-Hart’s film doesn’t get anywhere near Blair Witch levels of primeval emotions – partly because of an ambitious and perhaps over-fussy structure, and partly because its digital-age perma-snark tone cancels out fear for much of it.
Thea and her running buddy Louise (Riz Moritz) pride themselves on being online Robin Hoods – filming “heists” of swag from the rich with their faces plastered over with giant emoticons, and then selling off the proceeds to give to those in need. But really they’re massive narcissists. Their latest target is a commercial shoot in a remote country mansion being run by Tori (Tori Butler-Hart), where they plan to pose as caterers and then make off with high-end clothes and camera equipment. Bantering in the car on the way, they stop at a farm shop for directions; Louise picks up a creepy feathered mask and a local legend about a cult. But they’re too busy mugging for their feed to pay much attention.
Nor, when they arrive, does a large bloodstain in an empty house fully wake them up. Butler-Hart initially alternates Thea and Louise’s journey with the shoot’s set-up at the mansion, where mild satire on the ethics of 21st-century performance also casts shade on the girls’ always-on inanity (kept up with admirable naturalness by Duckles and Moritz). Butler-Hart then opts for a clever ploy in which the two influencers catch up on what has happened just prior by finding and viewing footage from the commercial crew, who (in a third nested storyline) find illuminating clips of their own. It’s impressive as much for the continuity of the camera placement as for its intricacy.
As it constantly recedes backwards, however, the narrative structure runs counterproductive to the leaning-forwards into the unknown on which horror so often feeds. The lurch from social-media comedy into shaky-cam bloodletting comes on suddenly, and is pretty overblown at first. For all the clever setup, there is scant traditional fireside lore to bed in, compared to the weathered folkloric authenticity that sustained Blair Witch. Thankfully, it all ends up in the woods – where Butler-Hart can safely follow a path well beaten by others.
• Dagr is released in cinemas on 9 February.
