The Binding is an Italian film that was released on October 2 on Netflix as part of their Netflix and Chills lineup. It's about an engaged couple, Francesco and Emma, who travel to Francesco's childhood home with Emma's daughter Sofia. Francesco is excited to introduce them to his mother for the first time, but the trip takes a turn for the worse when they realize that Sofia has become the target of a nasty curse.
Netflix original movies don't have a great reputation, but they've been starting to turn that around these past few months. On the horror front alone, they came out with a Korean zombie movie called #Alive in September, and on the same day The Binding came out, they also released another movie called Vampires vs. The Bronx. I really enjoyed both of them, and after watching The Binding, I'd say it belongs firmly on that same list. This is another good original horror film from Netflix, so we genre fans just might have to start giving them a bit more respect.
The best thing about this movie is the way it manages to draw you into the story and keep you interested the whole way through. When the main characters arrive at the house, some creepy things start to happen, but you don't quite know what exactly is going on. Sometimes you think Francesco's family are the ones hexing the girl, and other times you think they're actually the good guys, but you can't be sure either way. To take just one example, there's a scene where Francesco's whole family visits for dinner, and before they eat they say a prayer that sounds slightly off while still managing to be just Christian enough that you don't really have any concrete grounds to accuse them of anything.
The film keeps its secrets from you until it wants you to know them, and once you do figure out who's good and who's bad, it throws even more twists and turns at you. The curse that's afflicting Sofia has an interesting backstory, and the movie keeps your eyes glued to the screen as you slowly learn what exactly it's doing and why it's targeting her.
The other main strength of the movie is its creepy moments. The first half of the film is more about atmosphere than outright scares, and Director Domenico Emanuele de Feudis does a good job of letting you see enough of the creepy stuff to keep you interested without showing too much too soon. Then, in the second half, when he clues you in to what's actually going on, you finally get a good look at the thing/person (I'm being intentionally vague so I don't spoil it) that's causing all the trouble, and it looks pretty cool. It's nothing mind-blowing or extravagant, but what you do see is done well enough.
My only real issue with this movie is that the characters aren't super interesting. They're not bad by any means; they're just nothing special. They exist only to serve the supernatural intrigue, so they don't add anything of their own to the film. The movie would've been really good if it had better characters, but as it is, it's just regular good.
So if you're looking for some good new horror to watch this Halloween season, I would recommend The Binding. It's not going to become an all-time classic of the genre, but it's way better than what we've come to expect from Netflix original movies. You'd do well to give this one a watch, and it's especially worthwhile given the fact that we have no major horror movies coming out in theaters for the foreseeable future.
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