The Special

A spoiler light review of The Special should begin with tone, because B. Harrison Smith understands exactly how this horror film ought to feel. The Special gains early credibility from Davy Raphaely, whose presence is balanced by the different rhythm of Dave Sheridan. The foundation of The Special can be stated simply: Suspecting his wife of infidelity, Jerry follows his friend down a dark rabbit hole into a horror landscape of addiction. Within its 1h 34m running time, The Special reveals both the benefits and the limits of that disciplined approach.

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B. Harrison Smith shapes The Special with an approach that feels uncertain about tone and dramatic emphasis. The best directed passages in The Special establish an objective, let the characters respond and then allow the pressure to change naturally. Isolated moments suggest a more compelling version in The Special, particularly when B. Harrison Smith resists the urge to underline an already clear emotion. My main reservation about The Special is that events happen without gathering enough dramatic force, a limitation that interrupts rather than defines the experience.

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The craft of The Special is defined by uneasy framing, supported by uneasy framing rather than overwhelmed by decoration. Brick Top Productions gives The Special a production framework in which patiently built dread can remain connected to story. Made from a United States production context, The Special uses setting and design to clarify mood before dialogue has to explain it. The technical finish of The Special works because image, sound and editing appear to be serving the same immediate purpose.

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The Special is most involving when the screenplay allows Suspecting to complicate what initially appears to be a story about Jerry. That shift gives Davy Raphaely a more specific problem to carry through The Special. Working from material credited to James Newman, The Special reveals the central character at a measured pace instead of rushing toward its largest turn. The later pressure around an important relationship shows why The Special benefits whenever cause and consequence remain visibly connected.

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Beneath its plot, The Special is most interested in fear, isolation and the moment familiar spaces stop feeling safe. That concern becomes visible through Davy Raphaely, whose choices allow The Special to explore an idea without stopping for a speech. Suspecting gives the themes of The Special a concrete dramatic form rather than leaving them abstract. The emotional value of The Special grows whenever B. Harrison Smith trusts the audience to connect behaviour with the larger question.

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Davy Raphaely gives The Special its most dependable performance, finding a clear emotional intention beneath the plot. Opposite Davy Raphaely, Dave Sheridan brings The Special a contrasting pace that prevents the central relationship from feeling flat. Sarah French widens the ensemble of The Special through reactions that suggest a life beyond the immediate scene. B. Harrison Smith serves the cast of The Special best when a look or pause is allowed to finish before the story moves on.

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Taken as a whole, The Special is a film for only the most curious members of its likely audience for horror viewers who prefer atmosphere to constant shocks. The Special leaves its strongest impression through uneasy framing, the work of Davy Raphaely and a clear understanding of tone. The limitations around how events happen without gathering enough dramatic force should be acknowledged, but they do not erase what The Special does well. I would return to The Special for its personality and its willingness to connect genre pleasure with recognisable feeling.