In this unlikely sequel to Schindler’s List, the red dress that poor little girl wore comes back to murder anyone who wears it. No shit. In Fabric, from writer/director Peter Strickland, is a unique and memorable horror film that doesn’t quite pack enough punch—or cloth—to stand out.
Imaginative in execution and weird as hell, it’s best not to describe the plot of In Fabric other than to say it’s about an evil dress that causes bad things to happen to people who come into contact with it.
Well, not just people—even laundry machines are at risk.
Strickland deserves credit for In Fabric’s unique take on terror, even if the experience isn’t particularly satisfying. The movie is a slow boil and then some with, with a good chunk of time spent on Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s lonely character, who dons the red dress to meet single men, the dress in turn biding its time to meet her end.
As clever and well-made as In Fabric is, the material isn’t entirely absorbing; it isn’t scary, spooky, or even very unsettling. Not all horror films have to be “scary,” of course, but the movie leaves little lasting impression; stuff happens, the climax is strange, and then it ends, but aside from said laundry machine scene none of it is particularly memorable.
In Fabric has caught the fancy of some cinephiles, but the movie is as fascinating as you might expect for a story about a haunted red dress. Depending on how you take that statement, In Fabric may or may not be for you.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.