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Jun 06, 2014 By John Oursler Web Exclusive

The laconic title character from Borgman is best understood as a spirit, a bearded, scruffy man introduced fleeing from a wilderness hideaway who later becomes the projection of human anxiety, taking the form of a stranger and a gardener. In the film’s opening, Borgman scatters from a remote forest, along the way alerting some subterranean compatriots that the time has come to move. From there he staggers to a home asking quite politely if he could take a shower. It’s an ostensibly harmless interaction, but it sets into motion a series of mysterious events from which the family cannot recover their affluent suburban normalcy.

Dutch writer/director Alex van Warmerdam has crafted a deliciously enthralling mystery that plays out like a thriller but could be easily classified as a bristling adult fable. He gives away nothing in terms of context, expecting the audience to follow his lead as Borgman infiltrates the family’s way of life; the women and children are particularly vulnerable to the shadowy figure’s unclassifiable allure. Shape-shifting, nameless interlopers and a pervasive sense of disease casually populate the film forcing the audience to the edge of its seat as it tries to figure out what’s going on. Due to an immensely watchable impenetrability, the film works on a number of levels, and will likely gain in cult status in years to come.

drafthousefilms.com/film/borgman

BORGMAN Trailer from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.

Author rating: 7/10