THE CYCLE is a really interesting horror movie recently added to Shudder, and people have been talking and writing about it very vaguely because it has kind of a switch up that was a big surprise for people who saw it at Fantastic Fest. So I’ll maintain that secret until later in the review, but for the record I went in knowing what it was and still really liked the movie.
Unlike most of the new horror movies I’ve been enjoying lately, there’s not even the darkest of humor here. It’s a grim and unsettling story about a forensic anthropologist investigating a bizarre case that she’s much too close to. Dr. Megan Garland (Deborah Ann Woll, MOTHER’S DAY) – just call her Meg – lives alone, helps out with cold cases as a side gig, works at a “Body Farm” where they study decomposition to try to learn things to help solve crimes faster. She’s giving a friendly tour to some FBI agents when Police Chief Ian Marks (Will Hochman, Blue Bloods) needs to speak to her. We clock from his nervousness that it’s not just about her expertise. She seems professionally curious as he’s telling her about three bodies that were found, but “to be clear, this is why I’m here,” one of them was her father (David Myers Gregory, THE BIKERIDERS).
“May I?” she asks, and flips through the crime scene photos. Not exactly devastated. Her father left when she was 4, she is not forgiving about it, and has flashbacks and panic attacks related to her memories of him. So when Ian does try to get her insights on the case she says no. And then keeps thinking about it. (read the rest of this shit…)
