Hexing Movie Review : Rather vexing

Hexing Review: In Paris 2017, a young girl looking for a job in an antique shop comes across the owner Madame Estelle (Camille Solal) who narrates the story of a yantra board (the Indian equivalent of a Ouija board) in her shop and how it came into the hands of one particular Hannah (Emma Eliza Regan). The narrative shifts to Hannah and her estranged father David (Zeb Moore). We’re introduced to the coffee shop where Hannah works as a server, under a bad-tempered boss Rodney (Nigel Mercier), along with her shy but love-struck chef Joe (Adam Weafer), and fellow waitress Alice (Dominique Swain). Somewhere along the way, this mysterious yantra board comes into Hannah’s possession. Soon, everyone around Hannah gets affected by the evil spirit manifested in the ancient Indian object.

Starting as a drama rather than an all-out horror flick, the story takes a while to establish the significance of this device and why it should be feared. Along the way, the first half is spent on the relationship between Hannah and her estranged father, besides Alice and her romantic quests. Fortunately, Dominique Swain displays her fair amount of acting experience and carries most of the weight in some emotional scenes as Alice. This also works well enough on her co-star Emma Eliza Regan who benefits from sharing screen-time with her. But their efforts are futile in a meandering screenplay that can’t figure what it wishes to convey.

To make matters worse, the technical aspects seem to falter in practically every department. The cinematography is baffling; director Christophe Lenoir chooses to shoot his actors in tight, claustrophobic frames that often make it difficult for the audience to get a sense of space. If that wasn’t enough, the editing gives a chaotic feel to the narrative, awkwardly jumping from one scene to the next without much setup. There are some odd character choices too, such as the always annoyed Rodney, whose puzzling behaviour seems to be instantly excused by his employees and customers. And, this is all before we even get to the history behind the board, intended to be the focus of the film. Even though the plot is far from original, any spooky potential this film has is marred by shoddy execution. Juggling between genres, ‘Hexing’ fails to create scares, drama or mystery.

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