Lamb

One can always count on studio A24 to deliver films of a particularly artistic bent, and this is doubly true for their latest, Lamb. Accordingly, the trailer for this Valdimar Jóhannsson-directed, Icelandic supernatural thriller presents more than a couple of twists in its musical direction.

The opening shots feature a range of shots that carry a feeling of desolation and even estrangement: sounds such as the rattling of farm equipment and the heaving of a solitary lamb in confinement percolate over an airy yet claustrophobic soundscape. At 0:27 we get an audiovisual blackout, except the grunt of the woman on screen. Crucially, we don’t see what exactly happens as the couple take part—though it’s unclear how—in the birthing of what turns out to the titular animal. Moreover, we hear the lamb before seeing it—a subtle form of foreshadowing over an argument later in the trailer whether the lamb is—or should be seen as—a child, or not.

At first, the suggestion is implied to be tentative; the aforementioned soundscape continues unabated, interrupted only by the occasional, foreboding sound of a knock. We witness the lamb progressively taking up space and engaging in activities reserved for a human newborn, including, most notably, sleeping in a crib at 0:42. Things take a sonic turn at 1:02, however, as the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” abruptly inverts the mood, but only fleetingly. The ominous knock from earlier makes another appearance; we see a snippet of the protagonist crying between sunnier scenes—leading to the woman to scream at the off-screen lamb to go away. The music cuts out, emphasizing the notion that the Beach Boys’ music might represent the lamb’s confusion regarding its identity. Again, however, it’s unclear to what extent this is true, or what the intentions are—which is, of course, part of the point of this decidedly disturbing trailer.

The music continues at 1:34, only to be cut again at 1:38 with what sounds like a gun shot and the assertion that “it’s not a child”. The two musical themes then coalesce, lending an insidious layer to the Beach Boys track. It also becomes apparent at this point that the foreboding knock from earlier in the trailer may have been derived from “God Only Knows” in the first place.

Often, if there is a reversal or fake-out in a trailer’s music, this would be it; here, however, it can be understood as a kind of exercise in absurdism, rather than a genuine turn towards heartfelt comedy. (Perhaps notably, “God Only Knows” was also used in a sort of existential context in the trailer for Toy Story 4, which we also covered.)

Through the trailer’s musical design, we come to understand how the lamb in this trailer exhibits supernatural behaviour, perhaps (though not provably) even taking on the illusory appearance of a human child in the psyche of the protagonists—especially once one learns that they are a childless couple. Despite—or because of—the Beach Boys song, the horrific implications of the film then dawn on us.

Starring Swedish actor Noomi Rapace, Lamb arrives in theatres October 8th.

— Curtis Perry