By
Written by Tayla Giles
Suspense. Spine-tingles. Jump scares, upcoming psychological thriller Greta well and truly delivers a generous dose of all of the above, leaving audiences biting their nails on the edge of their seats.
Directed by well-renowned Irish film-maker Neil Jordan, the mysterious mind behind the 1994 cult classic Interview with the Vampire, Greta settles in a spot somewhere between horror, drama, and psychological thriller.
Chloë Grace Moretz delivers an empathy-inducing performance as Frances McCullen, a doe-eyed and naïve young woman who moves to New York with her roommate Erica (Maika Monroe) following the loss of her late mother.
Frances stumbles upon a handbag left behind on the subway and traces it back to its owner Greta: a seemingly frail, harmless and incredibly lonely widower with a charming Parisian accent.
The more time Frances spends with Greta, the more she notices her quirky eccentricities: her tragic family backstory, the strange banging noises coming from her “neighbours”, and her cupboard of identical “lost” handbags complete with stranger’s names and phone numbers attached.
What follows is a severe case of stalker-itis. Much like Joe’s infatuation with Beck in the Netflix hit TV show ‘You’, Greta quickly becomes obsessed with Frances, following her every move with a hawk-like gaze around town, to work and even to her apartment.
Greta’s maternal instinct turns manic when she drugs and kidnaps Frances, locking her away in a secret, eerily-decorated little girl’s room. Often bound, tied and gagged for hours in the confines of the claustrophobic room, Frances endures psychological and physical abuse ranging from piano lessons resulting in the old ruler-on-the-knuckles… to being thrown in “the box”.
Will detectives see through Greta’s little old lady charm? Will her roommate and father notice that something is amiss? Will Frances live to tell the tale? You’ll find no spoilers in this film review, so you’ll just have to watch the movie to find out for yourself.
Greta officially hits theatres on Thursday 28 February, so be sure to snap up tickets at an Event, Palace Nova, Wallis or Reading cinema near you!
4 out of 5 stars
Thank you to Kate, from Universal Pictures, for inviting us to review this movie!