How does that Journey song go? “Spooky kids in a seaside town…” No, that’s not it. But maybe it should be, and it would be a shoe-in for the theme song to supernatural thriller, Marionette. The story focuses on newly widowed child psychiatrist Marianne Winter, as she moves to Scotland, optimistically seeking a fresh start. As she settles into her new life, she begins treating a “secretive ten-year-old” who is fond of art, (ok, nothing alarming here) and claims to control the future through this aforementioned art (ok, I take back what I said). Simply a case of an imaginative youth or something more sinister awaiting Marianne in Scotland? As the child’s horrific sketches begin coming to life, Marianne’s life and reality are derailed.
Here’s what director Elbert van Strien had to say about creating Marionette:
Marionette has always been a very special project to me, and it took me many years to get it made. It has been an incredible journey and a dream come true. I hope the US audiences will like this thrilling and scary genre film but also the journey into the metaphysical as much as I did whilst working on it. I have always admired the American cinema of the ’70s when the genre was combined with artistic voice in great films such as Parallax View, Chinatown, Taxi Driver etc. I think my main influences are Kubrick, Hitchcock, Nicolas Roeg and Polanski (The Tenant, Rosemary’s Baby). I’ve no doubt the audience might recognize some of these in my film.
Marionette is directed by Elbert van Strien (Two Eyes Staring) and stars Thekla Reuten (In Bruges), Peter Mullan (Children of Men), Emun Elliott (Game of Thrones) and Elijah Wolf (T2 Trainspotting). Watch this exclusive clip below:
Marionette is available to stream November 3, 2021.
