Our Happy Place, directed by Paul Bickel and starring Bickel alongside Raya Miles, kicks off with a rapid-fire montage of events, immediately setting the tone for an intriguing thriller. This sense of mystery deepens when the protagonist awakens in the woods, disoriented and unsure of how she got there.
I initially speculated that this film might blend elements of Misery, What Lies Beneath, and even The Shining, imagining a fusion of those twisted scenarios. However, I was completely wrong—this movie is something entirely unique and profoundly unsettling!
Several times, I audibly gasped and was unprepared for the horror I witnessed. Many weird and increasingly unsettling things happen to our protagonist. Miles delivers an incredibly believable performance as a woman who is doing her best to cope as a caretaker, and who is trying to determine if what she sees are visions, nightmares or the truth. Either way, the poor thing keeps awakening in the woods.
Her best friend offers a clever idea to help her avoid waking up in the woods, but the nightmares remain intense, and the mystery of her experiences lingers. Truly unsettling, Bickel’s portrayal of ‘dead eyes’ is both chilling and deeply disturbing.
While sometimes intentionally ambiguous, this film is creepy and a good example of limited location story telling. I enjoyed Our Happy Place very much and found it to have an excellent script. The visual storytelling was terrific and the editing and score complimented the film’s creepy vibe.
I strongly encourage you to keep watching through the credits because it will be at that point that you will get a better understanding of everything you just witnessed. Aka, I think this movie may be more aligned with The Shining than I first contemplated. It is definitely its own thing and I applaud Bickel for this thrill ride.
Melody Lopez, Producer, Filmmaker Mixer Podcast (posted by Madelyn, Filmmaker Mixer Correspondent)