Attachment (Natten har øjne)

Jewish lore and mysticism has been dipped into since the early days of cinema, The Golem (1920) being the most famous. It’s a fascinating world that offers filmmakers a pantheon of entities to draw from.

Attachment written and directed by Gabriel Bier Gislason has academic Leah (Ellie Kendrick) bumping into actress Maja (Josephine Park) in Copenhagen that leads to Maja’s flat for tea, turning to wine then to sex.

A whirlwind romance takes Maja to London with Leah, with a broken leg following a seizure. Leah shares her home with her Jewish orthodox mother Chana (Sofie Gråbøl). Maja is not welcomed with open arms despite her being Danish by birth and able to converse with Chana in Danish (something Leah can’t).

Ignorant of the Jewish religion and customs while in the midst of an orthodox community in London, Maja goes to Lev’s (David Dencik) bookshop for help. Turns out Lev is Leah’s uncle and an expert on Jewish mysticism, lending Maja a book that gets her and Lev a severe reprimand from Chana. This along with lit candles every night, upturned bowls and small roles of parchment in the walls, not to mention the noises, lead Maja to suspect that something is going on and Leah is the focus.

Never that funny or that scary, Attachment works because of the two engaging leads are a joy, working off each other wittily and naturally, in a complex relationship between them, mother, custom and faith.

They have terrific support from Gråbøl and Denick. The former, grumpy and fastidious though nuanced enough to give the impression that her heart in the right place, the latter a lighter more deadpan role – especially his early exchanges with Maja – while dealing with much darker issues that directly affect family and community.

The budget keeps the film for the most part in the interiors of the London house where Bier Gislason works up a palpable sense of claustrophobia and menace as the story develops towards a demonic confrontation, back in Denmark.

Attachment is available on Shudder now.