Through the Shadow (originally Atraves da Sombra) is director Walter Lima Jr.’s homage to Henry James’ famous horror novella “The Turn of the Screw.” While staying true to much of the original source, Lima reworks the story to take place on a coffee plantation in 1930’s Brazil.
Laura (Virginia Cavendish) arrives at the farm to tutor her new employer’s orphaned niece and nephew, Elisa (Mel Maia) and Antonio (Xande Valois). The setting of the plantation is eerie from the moment she arrives, but (aside from a few instances of foreshadowing) nothing of note takes place until about halfway through the film when Antonio returns to the farm having been expelled from school.
As Laura discovers the mysteries of the farm, she is also confronted with young Antonio’s emerging sexuality. Her own puritanical persona is consistently contrasted with sexual acts from other characters.
Laura begins to notice strange behavior from the children and wonders how this might be connected to two former employees of the farm. One died and one disappeared, and it may be more than their old things that remain in the household. When Laura meets resistance for her attempts to protect the children, she must make a decision. Will she stay and potentially go mad, or will she let the haunting history of the plantation drive her away?
While this film is largely classified as a horror/thriller, it doesn’t truly find its place among either of those genres. It is not suspenseful or even chilling, but it is atmospheric and gloomy as a Gothic drama. Over a slow period of buildup, viewers’ curiosity over the mystery will be piqued, only to be let down by a tacked-on conclusion. Overall, the sense of this retelling is that it’s unsure of what it is trying to do except to convey prominent themes of sexual repression. Not recommended.