Frightfest London 2025: ‘The Rows’ Review
Stars: Brindisi Capri, Lara Pictet, Marcus Woods, Mary Montoya, Hans Heilmann, Rynn Reigns | Written and Directed by Seth Daly
From first-time writer and director Seth Daly, The Rows opens with a young girl, approximately eight or nine years old, waking up in a cornfield, unsure of how she got there and why she is there. What unfolds is a cat-and-mouse-style slasher movie that has a few new tricks up its sleeve.
I’ll get the only thing that I disliked (a little bit) out of the way first. It comes mainly in the opening half an hour, while the young girl is hiding from the villains of the movie. Now, I have a daughter of a very similar age to the character in this movie, and children of that age are terrible at hide and seek. Not only can they never find anywhere good to hide, but they also can’t keep quiet to save their lives, which is exactly what the girl needs to do in this movie! So, now that’s out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff.
That young girl is played by Brindisi Capri, and she shows lots of confidence in the role. There’s not a whole lot of dialogue for her to deliver, but the way she carries herself is impressive, and maybe most importantly, she’s not annoying, which can happen a lot with child actors and that isn’t good when you’re supposed to be rooting for them. Performances are good from everyone involved, but the other name I want to mention is Lara Pictet, in another main role. I’d be surprised if we don’t see her in bigger things in the near future.
Although on the face of things, this is a pretty generic slasher movie, it does do a few things to make it stick out from the (very full) pack. One is hard to describe without giving away spoilers, but it involves a character that almost feels like it could have been transported from a different, more “sci-fi” film. Which sounds a bit silly, and I think some people who watch this might think it does come across a bit ridiculous, but I liked it. I know I’m being very vague here but when you watch the movie, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
The Rows is also separated into three chapters – each starting with its own title card. And while that’s not original in itself, the first two chapters are in reverse. So what would normally be the opening thirty minutes or so is shown after what would normally be the middle third of the movie. I’m not entirely sure how different viewing the movie would have been if it were shown in the “correct” order, but there are a few reasons Daly might have decided on this. The opening scene and the first half hour are now very dramatic and probably grip the audience quicker than if they were in chronological order. It also gets the audience asking questions in their own head about why things are happening on screen. And lastly, it means you’re more likely to re-watch the movie to try to refresh what you saw in the opening.
For a first-time director, everything looks great, and Daly does a great job of making the four villains a real threat but not indestructible. The simple white sack with eye holes cut might be simple and unoriginal, but absolutely works to make them look scary.
Sometimes the musical score is a bit too in-your-face and loud. I almost don’t want to mention that because, for the most part, the score is really good. There are moments when it does superbly to add tension; there’s one great slow zoom shot where the music is perfect, and it almost feels like an extra villain at times. But, just every so often, it’s too much. This might be partly because for about forty-five minutes of the movie, it is very quiet, with little dialogue.
There’s plenty of slasher movies out there, and plenty of good ones too, but fans of the horror genre will definitely want to check out The Rows. It may be light on on-screen deaths – although I did really like one – but it feels fresh and interesting while still being faithful to slasher tropes.
*** 3/5
The Rows screened as part of this year’s London Frightfest.
