Just in time for Halloween, here’s a real horror film. No there isn’t a ghost moving doors and dragging people down to the basement. No there isn’t some enigmatic killer running around killing babysitters. No vampires don’t make their cameo appearance. This movie is an example of existential horror. It’s amazing how much dread and foreboding is packed into every little frame. Michael Shannon’s acting is amazing, because he’s Michael Shannon. I think what makes Take Shelter so unnerving is the uncertainty that permeates the story. Just when it looks as if some sort of resolution is coming, the film takes a left turn into something else. In very deliberate fashion, it wants to make you uncomfortable, and it succeeds brilliantly. I don’t want to say much else, because this is one of those films where the less you know the better.
