Another Day to Live Through (2023)

"Weird Art House 1970s-style EuroHorror - Hooray!"

You can probably already guess that ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH is going to get a hearty recommendation from me. It's another horror film from Finland, coming hot on the heels of THE KNOCKING and GOOD BOY, both of which premiered at Frightfest recently, and both of which are also highly recommended. While THE KNOCKING was very much a folk horror tale, and GOOD BOY felt like 50 SHADES OF GRAY done Inside No.9-style, ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH feels like a good Jess Franco film. 

If you're not familiar with the director's work that doesn't matter, and may in fact count to this film's benefit as Mr Franco's filmography is certainly chequered. But when he's at his best his movies are dreamlike, thought-provoking, nebulous head trips. They don't necessarily make sense and you likely need to be in a certain frame of mind to appreciate them, but if you are you'll have an experience you'll never forget. And that's what we have here.

ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH is the story of Satu (Lene Kqiku), a young woman hiking through forestland when she meets the much older Lauri (Timo Torikka) who directs her to the cabin she is seeking. The next thing she knows she is waking up in bed with Lauri attending her, with no memory of how she got there. The longer she stays in the cabin the more time seems to be distorting and folding in on itself. Sidney Salkow's 1964 THE LAST MAN ON EARTH plays constantly on the television in the lounge, and eventually Satu ends up parroting dialogue from it. Lauri seems to drift in and out of her reality as the days blur one into another. She sometimes eats breakfast on the cabin's veranda while the dead body of someone lies just beyond the cabin's steps.

Eventually all the pieces fall into place. Or do they? That in essence is the appeal (and likely also the turn off for some) of writer-director Peter Simmons' film, because by the end you'll be asking all sorts of questions, ruminating on all sorts of possibilities and, if you've been in what can best be described as a 'Jess Franco state of mind' you'll be wanting to watch it again. Finland is having a great year in horror and this is another unexpected surprise, and a must-see if you love weird art-house fractured narrative 1970s-style EuroHorror. Just ignore the British poster which seems to be suggesting that it's some dull generic slasher movie.

ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH is something far more interesting altogether. Here's the trailer:

Peter Simmons' ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH is out on digital from Reel 2 Reel Films on Monday 11th September 2023