Now Showing: Flames

 

Flames

Genre: Horror

Director: Bryan Bertino

Writer: Andrew Doster

Cast: Sophie Turner, Cameron Monaghan, Alexander Ludwig, Sasha Lane, Noah Centineo, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson

The film begins in a wood where two campers are talking about the relationship with their respective girlfriends until their attention was taken by some light blue shapes among the plants. Later their tension increases due to frightening noises and whispers until they start to run away terrified to hear their screams a few seconds later. After this scene there are the headlines in which you see newspaper articles and small pieces of real video in which you see these strange bright fires in various areas of the world. Then he goes to Erik's (Cameron Monaghan) house and we see him until he is watching the DVD of the movie "Red Farm". At some point he is joined by some friends to organize an excursion to an area called Ridder Forest that they will have to do the next day, their names are Aelon (Alexander Ludwig), Andrew (Noah Centineo), Margot (Sophie Turner) and Juliet (Sasha Lane). They agree on what to bring and Juliet says that in that area luminous figures have often been sighted and that the locals say that something terrible happened in the past in that place. Meanwhile, they eat pizza, drink beer and comment on the movie Erik was watching. Ridder Forest was a few hours away and the next morning the five friends set off calmly, in fact from their news the luminous figures could only be seen at night. Erik brought the high-definition video camera, Juliet brought her father's Geiger counter also equipped with built-in thermometer and compass, Andrew's night vision glasses while Aelon torches torches and Walkie-Talkie. Margot arrived last bringing food and drinks. The journey was quiet and in the afternoon they arrived in the Ridder Forest area, there was also a beautiful lake where the girls dived and swam a little. It was a rather isolated area in open country rather far from the last town they had encountered. 

By now the evening has arrived and after having eaten something the five friends began to arrange the various equipment, visibly excited by the idea, except Margot who instead seemed a little more frightened and tense than the others. The night had come while the boys were walking in the forest with their torches and recording with the video camera. After a long walk the five stopped to drink a little and Andrew began to huff and to complain that there was nothing and that perhaps they were all lies. The boys realized that the forest was so thick that the darkness was total, even the light of the moon could hardly be seen. A few seconds later Margot realized that a very slight fog was rising from the subsoil beyond that the temperature was going down, Erik however reassured her with a hug. Soon, however, everyone noticed that they felt a strange sensation, despite having only seen a snake so far and a big spider on a tree. Suddenly Margot heard a rustling and strange noises and was frightened when they saw a pair of sinister yellow eyes staring at her. Even Juliet, though usually strong and determined, began to get scared. Andrew immediately turned on the torchlight and saw that it was just a big owl, which immediately took flight. Shortly after, however, Juliet tells everyone to be silent and began to point to the video camera, in the distance there was a glow, a transparent flame like a ghost. It had an elongated shape and seemed to have arms that signaled the boys to come closer. The boys slowly began to follow that flame, with a mixture of anxiety, fear and excitement, only making their breath gasp. The fire suddenly disappeared, only to return to another point. This happened a few times. Erik realized however that it was not the same flame, they all had a slightly different shape and also a different color tone. At one point the luminous figures began to be born in all directions and disappeared only when the boys got too close. Some remained motionless, others darted quickly from one side to the other, others seemed almost to hop, play. The five boys were open-mouthed, until Andrew was frightened because he thought he had seen a face in one of the little flames, a sad face of an old man with his mouth wide open and this made all the others go mad. From this moment, perhaps by suggestion, or maybe not, everyone started to see faces in the flames. 

The forest ended and they found themselves in the clearing, where they saw the origin of all the fires, according to the map in fact that dilapidated building was the old subway station, a project never completed. The boys read a sign in which it was understood that in that area in the past there was a flourishing activity, also because of a nuclear power plant, now no longer existing. The boys approached to enter, but it was all closed for a big lock. Aelon found a large stone and began to tap on the padlock to break it. After the first shot the flames disappeared, they were practically extinguished and the darkness took over, they seemed to have been frightened by the noise. The environment was ghostly and Margot asked to leave, but everyone else was too curious to know what was inside. The padlock was broken and after a quick inspection of the place, with so much dust and mice, they descended some long, strangely long stairs, Andrew snorted as Juliet complained that she had to go to the bathroom. They also heard strange whistles in the distance. When the stairs ended there was the station itself, there were also carriages abandoned at the end of the tunnel. The station was large, with several benches and various rooms. The boys began to scour, take pictures, make videos while suddenly Erik and Margot felt the smell of gas as they approached the tracks, probably a pipe was leaking gas from that area. Erik said without too much conviction that perhaps the flames were caused by the tongues of gas that had mixed with the natural elements and the whistles and noises were caused by the compressed gas that comes out of the cracks. Margot said that maybe the illusion of the strangely long stairs was a simple effect of gas inhalation. At this point Erik said it was better to go out, which could be dangerous. Andrew and Aelon nodded, Margot breathed a sigh of relief and turned to laugh at Juliet saying "Finally ...". Margot, however, did not finish the sentence, Juliet was not there, she had disappeared. The four began to talk to each other, they didn't know how long she had disappeared and no one had noticed her absence, even though Aelon said he complained first because he had to go to the bathroom. The four approached the bathing area, Erik realized that the gas was beginning to have greater effects, he felt slightly weaker. As they approached the bathrooms you could hear sighs and like coughing with someone who seemed to be struggling to breathe. Aelon kicked the door open but there was nothing, but the sighs and cough were still there. Andrew ran out screaming Juliet's name several times while Erik, Margot and Aelon stayed in the bathrooms wondering what to do. Shortly after a chilling scream of Andrew made the three friends terrorize. The three ran out, but found only a pool of blood and a red stripe that continued to the tracks. Margot cried while Aelon started kicking a bench while Erik tried to rationalize what was happening, there was also the possibility that they were going crazy because of the gas. 

While the three walked calling the two missing friends Erik saw with the video camera a dark figure coming out of a corner and jumping on Aelon, who began to wriggle, Erik's video camera fell to the ground and broke. The darkness took over, only a torch made a little light, animal cries could be heard and something wounded Erik's arm until Aelon's voice vanished into thin air. Erik took Margot by the hand and locked her in the bathrooms while Erik grabs a pipe. At this point he also heard a scream from Juliet. Erik didn't know what to do, but he told himself that at least one of the two seemed safe and told Margot to stay there and never open up to anyone while the red-haired girl was crying and he prayed not to go. Erik stepped forward brandishing the tube in his hand and advanced into the partial darkness screaming to frighten whatever was there. He came to a part, the one that was to be the control room and entered slowly. There was a person covered in rags, sitting on the chair that gave him backs. As soon as he turned the chair he saw that it was Andrew with his face horribly disfigured. At that point he ran back to where Margot had left, feeling behind him a presence that followed him chuckling hoarsely. Erik entered the bathrooms and closed the door behind him. Margot, who didn't answer. Erik opened all the doors and as soon as he opened the last one from the ceiling some concrete fell down and Margot's body came down horribly disfigured hanging upside down. Erik escapes and just before he took the stairs a hand grabbed his ankle and the two began to struggle, until he managed to free himself and managed to get back into the baths. The murderer saw the shoe sprouting from a corner and pounced on that side. Erik, however, stood in the opposite corner, barefoot to one foot. As soon as the killer approached, the boy hit him and closed the door behind him, while the killer began knocking wildly on the closed door. Erik heaved a sigh of relief for a moment, but he knew that that old door would soon open. Erik exhausted escaped from the stairs but found the gate from which everyone had entered barred and Erik began to curse and exhausted returned to the door of bathroom, now almost broken by sitting in front of it. Erik said in a low voice "You will not have me, I will drag you with me ..." and he took out a lighter and on the third attempt he managed to light it while images of happy moments with his friends flowed into his mind and in a flash everything turned red.

After the first credits there are the men of science who comment on the incident saying that two girls were found five bodies, two boys and two girls, killed by cutting weapons have not yet been identified because charred while in the bathroom was found the partially recognizable corpse of Julian Miller (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson), a crazy drugged escaped from an asylum some months before. The police, however, wonder how this fire broke out, in fact they are not aware of Erik, his body has not been found.