Jack (played by Dacre Montgomery) returns to his estranged mother’s house for her funeral and meets her wife, Jill (Vicky Krieps), who he decides to stay with in order to understand his mother better. On his first night at the house, Jack discovers that his mother’s ghost has not left the house, visiting both him and Jill by inhabiting the other’s body while they’re asleep. As the movie goes on, his mother’s true nature begins to show, giving him answers to questions that he’s had about their relationship his whole life.
Directed by Samuel Van Grinsven, Went Up the Hill is admittedly bizarre, especially if you go into it blind like I did. Every new event in the film had me sitting up in my seat in shock. But the message of the film unfurls with each minute that passes. The representation of love persevering in grief (as Vision told us) is not just evident in death -although the film also shows that. Instead, it also manifests when people experience the loss of the good parts of those they love through various forms of abuse. Though abusers inflict harm, some victims can bear a love that remains hopeful, thereby, unfortunately, leaving themselves even more vulnerable to harm.
Went Up the Hill reminds us by the end that, while we may be physically free of people/situations that cause us harm, sometimes, we can only be completely safe by letting them go from our minds.
Went Up the Hill is playing at TIFF ’24. For more information, click here.
