Tethered (2022) Review
Spoiler-free so you can read before you watch
Horrorific content by Ted By Dawn on March 18th, 2022 | Movie Review | Survival, Wilderness, Thriller, Creature
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It's about a young blind boy surviving alone in the woods, a rope keeping him tethered to his home.
Tethered was directed by Daniel Robinette and stars Alexandra Paul (from House Of The Damned, Piranha and The Paperboy), Kareem Ferguson and Jared Laufree.
Whatever you do, don't lose the rope.
You have to live with the hand you've been dealt. For Solomon, the protagonist of Tethered, that means living in solitude, surviving amongst the elements, unencumbered by his blindness.
For director Daniel Robinette, it means having to rely on an inspired story and the kind of ingenuity that can only come from the limits of minimalist filmmaking to craft his feature debut.
Tethered is at its strongest when it's world-building. Whether it's the impressively nuanced performance by Jared Laufree, the strong emphasis on visual storytelling or the many idiosyncrasies that make up the confined luddite-haven that Solomon lives in; there's always something intriguing about Tethered and the way it drip feeds information as the plot progresses.
Luckily, this helps offset a lot of the facets of low-budget filmmaking that Tethered is somewhat tethered to -- a clunky line reading here, some flat lighting there, some of what appears to be day-for-night, a distractingly generic score, you get the idea.
There are also some elements of the film where your mileage may vary. It is a stretch more taut than Solomon's rope to even call this a horror movie, and your buddies will probably hate your guts if you bring it to your next horror movie night, as it is more of a psychological drama with a slow pace that would make an A24 movie blush.
That said, if that's what you're in the mood for, Tethered delivers. There's enough there for an interesting movie that makes good on its premise.
Worth Watching?
Tethered is only worth watching if you're in the mood for a slow burn where the emphasis is more on a character and the world he inhabits than any immediate horror. For some, that's a major turn off (and that's fine), but for everyone else, it's worth a shot.
