The Lie

"As a parent myself, I was really fascinated by the idea of how deep a parent's love is and how quickly the veneer of civilization crumbles," says the filmmaker. "Over the course of a few days, we see these two parents, who see themselves as good and moral people, letting go of any sense of kindness".

Broadcast as part of the Welcome to the Blumhouse film series, an anthology of thrillers featuring diverse castes directed by emerging filmmakers, The lie is being released at the same time as Black Box. This film series focuses on thrillers, suspense and psychological drama. The films explore related themes of cultural differences, social pressures and personal anxieties. Although each film is independent, they all share a common line of family and love as a redemptive or destructive force.

In the Lie, a divorced mother and father find themselves trapped in a nightmare when their only daughter confesses to the accidental murder of her mother friend. In this harrowing psychological thriller, the family is at the very center of the story. It shows how parents will have to figure out how to protect their child. It begins as a traditional comedy drama and features a divorced father, Jay (Peter Sarsgaard) who, after taking his best friend Britanny (Devery Jacobs) to a bus stop at the request of his 15-year-old daughter Kayla (Joey King) and letting them walk while he stops on the road for a bathroom break, sees that only his daughter returns and confesses to accidentally pushing his best friend off a bridge into a tumultuous river. Terrified that she might be sent to jail, Jay and his ex-wife Rebecca (Mireille Enos) cover Kayla's crime with a web of lies and deception. But the truth doesn't stay hidden, and as one mistake leads to another, the desperate parents discover that what really happened in those icy woods is more shocking than they imagined. This fatal spiral will not only bring Jay and Rebecca to face not only Britanny's parents but also law enforcement.

Written and directed by Veena Sud (The Killing), starring Mireille Enos (Hanna, The Killing), Peter Sarsgaard (An Education) and Joey King (The Kissing Booth, The Act). This thriller is produced by Alix Madigan-Yorkin (Winter's Bone), Christopher Tricarico (The Banker) and Jason Blum (Get Out). It is interesting to note that Blumhouse, who has accustomed us to more or less successful horror films, is oriented contrary to The Box to any recourse to fantasy and the proposed thriller is as stifling as perfectly mastered. The director and screenwriter not only benefits from an interesting cast, but can also count on the natural settings of Toronto and a major blizzard to reinforce the suffocating side of the film.

This thriller designed for direct broadcast on Amazon Prime Video as of October 6 is a real surprise and has caught our full attention. Until the final twist that will put the whole film in a different perspective, we can only salute The Lie as one of the best blumhouse productions of the moment.

The lie (Between Earth and Sky)
Directed by Veena Sud
Produced by Jason Blum, Alix Madigan, Christopher Tricarico
Written by Sebastian Ko, Marcus Seibert, Veena Sud
Starring Peter Sarsgaard , Joey King, Cas Anvar, Dani Kind, Mireille Enos, Devery Jacobs, Patti Kim, Nicholas Lea
Music by Tamar-kali
Cinematography: Peter Wunstorf
Edited by Philip Fowler
Production companies : Blumhouse Television
Distributed by Amazon Studios
Release date: October 6, 2020 (USA)
Running time: 97 minutes

Viewed on October 03, 2020 (screener press)

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