''In Fabric'' is a 2018 British
horror comedy
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and spo ...
film, written and directed by
Peter Strickland. The film follows a haunted red dress as it torments various owners. It stars
Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste (born 26 April 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her role in the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Secrets & Lies'', for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Sup ...
,
Hayley Squires
Hayley Squires (born 16 April 1988) is an English actress and playwright, best known for her work in the Ken Loach film ''I, Daniel Blake''. Squires has also appeared in ''Call the Midwife'' (2012), '' Southcliffe'' (2013), ''Complicit'' (2013), ...
,
Leo Bill
Leo Martin Bill (born 31 August 1980) is an English actor, best known for his role as James Brocklebank in the 2006 film '' The Living and the Dead'', as well as '' The Fall'', ''Alice in Wonderland'', and the FX/BBC One drama series ''Taboo''. ...
, and
Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline Tracey Philippa Christie (born 28 October 1978) is an English actress who is best known for portraying Brienne of Tarth in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2019). She is also widely known for her role the Firs ...
.
It had its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
on 13 September 2018. It was released in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
on 28 June 2019 by
Curzon Artificial Eye
Curzon Film (), formerly known as Artificial Eye or Curzon Artificial Eye, is a British film distributor, specialising in independent, foreign-language and art house films for cinema and home entertainment.
History
Artificial Eye was founded i ...
and was released in the United States on 6 December 2019 by
A24
A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City.
A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
.
Plot
Sheila is a recently divorced
bank teller
A bank teller (often abbreviated to simply teller) is an employee of a bank whose responsibilities include the handling of customer cash and negotiable instruments. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier or customer representative. ...
who lives with her teenage son Vince. She gets frequently chastised for insignificant work errors by her bosses and intimidated by Vince's girlfriend Gwen. She visits department store Dentley and Soper's to buy a dress in the sales for a date. Assisted by enigmatic store clerk Miss Luckmoore, Sheila is drawn to a beautiful, flowing red dress, which Luckmoore convinces her to purchase. Sheila notices a strange rash on her chest after wearing the dress. Her washing machine later breaks down when trying to wash it, resulting in Sheila injuring her hand. At night, the store clerks are shown cleaning a lifelike mannequin, which appears to
menstruate
Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of h ...
, as the elderly proprietor Mr Lundy observes and
masturbates
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
.
When returning to shop at the store, Sheila learns that there is only one version of the dress and that the store
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...
was killed after wearing it for the store catalogue. Sheila goes on a date with new suitor Zach while Gwen and Vince have sex. As Gwen climaxes, the dress floats above her and tries to suffocate her. When Sheila and Zach go for a walk together, she is attacked by a
German Shepherd
The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899.
It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...
, which cuts her leg and rips the dress in the process. Later that day, Vince returns home with the dress, somehow fully repaired. After hearing the dress move about in the wardrobe at night, an unsettled Sheila attempts to return the dress to the store but is refused. With the dress in her trunk, Sheila is killed in a car accident en route to spending the night with Zach.
The dress comes into the possession of washing machine repairman Reg Speaks, who is made by his friends to wear it on his
stag night :''Stag night is the UK, Canadian, Irish, Australian and New Zealand term for a Bachelor party.''
''Stag Night'' is a 2008 American horror film written and directed by Peter A. Dowling and starring Kip Pardue, Vinessa Shaw, and Breckin Meyer. The ...
. His fiancée Babs takes a liking to the dress and wears it to shop at Dentley and Soper's. Luckmoore rebukes Babs for shopping near closing time but is convinced by Lundy to let her stay. Meanwhile, at home, Reg gets hypnotised by the department store's TV advertisement and dies from
carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as "flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large e ...
caused by his boiler. Babs recounts to Luckmoore a disturbing dream in which she becomes the model for the store catalogue but gets thinner and ends up being buried in the store. Babs goes into the fitting room while a fight between patrons breaks out in the store and quickly spirals into looting.
The dress catches fire and the flames spread quickly around the store. Babs burns to death in her changing room, while Luckmoore flees down into the
dumbwaiter
A dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator or lift intended to carry food. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial, public and private buildings, are often connected between multiple floors. When installed in restaur ...
with a dismembered
mannequin
A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Pr ...
. As she descends deeper into the store, she sees the dead store model, Sheila, Reg, and Babs stitching together the dress from threads made of their blood, along with several unattended sewing stations implied to be for future wearers of the dress. A fireman observes the destroyed store and discovers the dress undamaged amongst the rubble.
Cast
*
Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste (born 26 April 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her role in the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Secrets & Lies'', for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Sup ...
as Sheila Woolchapel
*
Hayley Squires
Hayley Squires (born 16 April 1988) is an English actress and playwright, best known for her work in the Ken Loach film ''I, Daniel Blake''. Squires has also appeared in ''Call the Midwife'' (2012), '' Southcliffe'' (2013), ''Complicit'' (2013), ...
as Babs
*
Leo Bill
Leo Martin Bill (born 31 August 1980) is an English actor, best known for his role as James Brocklebank in the 2006 film '' The Living and the Dead'', as well as '' The Fall'', ''Alice in Wonderland'', and the FX/BBC One drama series ''Taboo''. ...
as Reg Speaks
*
Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline Tracey Philippa Christie (born 28 October 1978) is an English actress who is best known for portraying Brienne of Tarth in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2019). She is also widely known for her role the Firs ...
as Gwen
*
Julian Barratt
Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongs ...
as Stash
*
Steve Oram
Stephen John Oram is an English actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He is known for his role in the 2012 film ''Sightseers'', which he also co-wrote.
Life and career
Oram was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England.
He started as a ...
as Clive
*
Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958)
Discography Studio Albums
Compilation Albums
EPs
Singles
Soundtracks
References
External links
*
Adamson's art-house
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Barry
1958 births
Living people
People from ...
as Zach
* Jaygann Ayeh as Vince
*
Richard Bremmer
Richard Bremmer (born 27 January 1953) is an English actor.
Early life
Bremmer was born and brought up in Warwickshire.
Career
Bremmer first began his career in the short film of ''Couples and Robbers'' before being in his first full-length fi ...
as Mr Lundy
* Terry Bird as Bananas Brian
*
Fatma Mohamed
Fatma Mohamed (born 1975) is a Romanian actress known for her appearances in all five of director Peter Strickland's feature films, namely ''Katalin Varga'', ''Berberian Sound Studio'', ''The Duke of Burgundy'', ''In Fabric'' and '' Flux Gourmet'' ...
as Miss Luckmoore
*
Sidse Babett Knudsen
Sidse Babett Knudsen (; born 22 November 1968) is a Danish actress who works in theatre, television, and film. Knudsen made her screen debut in the 1997 improvisational comedy ''Let's Get Lost (1997 film), Let's Get Lost'', for which she receive ...
as Jill
Production
In September 2017, it was announced that
Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste (born 26 April 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her role in the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Secrets & Lies'', for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Sup ...
had joined the cast of the film, with
Peter Strickland directing from a screenplay he wrote. Andy Starke served as a producer on the film, and Ian Benson, Lizzie Francke, Rose Garnett, Stephen Kelliher, Patrick Howson, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross served as executive producers on the film under their Blue Bear Rook Films, Bankside Films,
BBC Films
BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Part ...
and
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
banners, respectively. In November 2017,
Hayley Squires
Hayley Squires (born 16 April 1988) is an English actress and playwright, best known for her work in the Ken Loach film ''I, Daniel Blake''. Squires has also appeared in ''Call the Midwife'' (2012), '' Southcliffe'' (2013), ''Complicit'' (2013), ...
,
Julian Barratt
Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongs ...
,
Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline Tracey Philippa Christie (born 28 October 1978) is an English actress who is best known for portraying Brienne of Tarth in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2019). She is also widely known for her role the Firs ...
,
Leo Bill
Leo Martin Bill (born 31 August 1980) is an English actor, best known for his role as James Brocklebank in the 2006 film '' The Living and the Dead'', as well as '' The Fall'', ''Alice in Wonderland'', and the FX/BBC One drama series ''Taboo''. ...
,
Steve Oram
Stephen John Oram is an English actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He is known for his role in the 2012 film ''Sightseers'', which he also co-wrote.
Life and career
Oram was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England.
He started as a ...
, Fatma Mohamed, Jaygann Ayeh, and
Richard Bremmer
Richard Bremmer (born 27 January 1953) is an English actor.
Early life
Bremmer was born and brought up in Warwickshire.
Career
Bremmer first began his career in the short film of ''Couples and Robbers'' before being in his first full-length fi ...
joined the cast of the film.
Strickland commented that when writing the script he drew inspiration from both the curious nature of
second-hand shop
__NOTOC__
A second-hand shop is a shop which sells used goods.
Temporary venues
People will sell used goods right in front of their home in what is called a "garage sale". The products would be set up in front of the garage.
In the UK, peo ...
s and his memories of being taken to department stores as a child, in particular the now closed
Jacksons head branch in
Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...
. He wanted to interrogate the reactions people have to clothing. The dress itself was therefore very important. It also needed to fit a range of body types, so costume designer Jo Thompson made a simple red silk
wrap dress
A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that covers ...
.
Release
In March 2018,
Curzon Artificial Eye
Curzon Film (), formerly known as Artificial Eye or Curzon Artificial Eye, is a British film distributor, specialising in independent, foreign-language and art house films for cinema and home entertainment.
History
Artificial Eye was founded i ...
acquired UK distribution rights to the film. The film had its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
on 13 September 2018. Shortly after,
A24
A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City.
A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. It was released in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
on 28 June 2019. It was released in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on 6 December 2019.
Reception
''In Fabric'' received positive reviews from film critics. It holds approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads "''In Fabric''s gauzy giallo allure weaves a surreal spell, blending stylish horror and dark comedy to offer audiences a captivating treat." On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 81 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Upon its UK release, ''The Independent'' called the film "''
Suspiria
''Suspiria'' () is a 1977 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daria Nicolodi, partially based on Thomas De Quincey's 1845 essay ''Suspiria de Profundis''. The film stars Jessica Harper as ...
'' set in a department store" and commented that it was Strickland at "his most free and playful".
''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' called him "modern Britain’s answer to
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
."
''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' enjoyed the "dry, daft wit that reveals itself in surprising ways, from the bonkers premise onwards".
Writing in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
Mark Kermode
Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...
made it his film of the week and praised the "heady mix of intoxicating nostalgia, clothing-related alchemy and horror-inflected twisted comedy".
Internationally, critics also lauded the film. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' stated it was Strickland's "most impressive, engrossing, imaginatively unchained work yet".
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
summed up the film as "a singular trip into a singularly warped mind".
''In Fabric'' was included in best of 2019 film lists in ''The Playlist'' and ''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
''.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Méliès d'Or
2018 films
2018 horror films
British horror films
A24 (company) films
British supernatural horror films
Films about witchcraft
Films set in 1983
Films set in department stores
Films set in England
Films directed by Peter Strickland
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
2010s British films