Little Erin Merryweather and Trauma: A Movie Review

Director: David Morwick and Michael Civille.

Writer: David Morwick.

This review goes back to 2003 where horror focused on mythological tales e.g. Little Red Riding Hood and where women were put in the roles of serial killers. Completed in 2003, Little Erin Merryweather is a film from the Indican Picture's library that puts David Morwick in both the director's chair and one of the film's starring roles as Peter Bloom. This film has won best feature at the Woods Hole Film Festival and Little Erin Merryweather adds a disturbing plotline of sexual abuse while still managing to be entertaining.

The film follows Erin Merryweather from an early age where the film illicitly describes her early sexual abuse at the hands of her father. Her trauma goes unresolved throughout her life and soon college students turn up missing, or dead, with her childhood story told little by little. A final showdown between Peter and Erin ends inconclusively as many fairy tales often do.

One in six boys and one in four girls are sexually abused before the age of sixteen (1in6) and the use of a strong story line fully fleshes out the killer's motivations. Erin has dissociated her early traumatic experience, but still events will set her off on a murderous path e.g. men's dirty hands. The film shows some smarts by not painting Erin as a victim, while leaving her outcome open. A tragic figure and one who deserves some compassion, Erin is a multi-dimensional antagonist with more than just beauty, or thrills to offer audiences (a message).

The use of the Little Red Riding Hood story line also will appeal to a wide audience as many North Americans can relate to tales of woods, wolves, and girls approaching womenhood. This myth is the central theme upon which other elements derive e.g. murderous intent, hunting Erin etc. This motif has a good grounding in western culture and the use of this tale is welcomed.

Little Erin Merryweather is a really enjoyable film and a movie that deserves a second look from viewers. Audiences also need to take note and take some time to enjoy this film despite some potential dusting on the DVD cases (from 2003). More info' on this horrifying tale are below.

A trailer, synopsis, and cast details for Little Erin Merryweather are available at the Indican website:

Little Erin Merryweather at Indican

Writing/plot/story/psychology: 7.5.
Acting/chacterizations/believability: 7.
Settings/realism/design: 8.

Overall: 7.5 out of 10.



Sources:

An Overview of Sexual Abuse at 1in6

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