Greek myths aren’t exactly Disney PG stories. Take in one of the last scenes The Odyssey, for example. Odysseus, finally back in Ithaca, slays a slew of suitors who pined for his wife Penelope in his absence. At the start of the Trojan War, King Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter, Iphigenia, to please Artemis and gain the necessary wind to sail. Or how about the end of Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex? Oedipus gouges out his eyes after realizing the truth. These stories are dripping with blood.
Then there are the Furies, a trio of female characters who seek revenge, usually against men. Travis Stevens’ third feature film, An injured fawn, is an intriguing and surreal retelling of the Furies. This time they punish a serial killer who kills women and makes them his trophies. Like Stevens’ great second feature, Jacob’s wife, his latest is very much a film about female agency and empowerment. It is also ambitious in its use of Greek stories and surreal imagery. The latest from Stevens confirms my feeling that he is one of the most exciting indie horror directors around right now.
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The Furies explained
An injured fawn is very careful never to overload the public with too much information. Even if you’ve never read anything by Homer or Aeschylus, you can still follow the general story. The opening also explains well what the Furies are in Greek and Roman mythology. The Furies, also called Eumenides, are essentially the goddesses of vengeance. The Greek poet Hesiod said they were the daughters of Gaea (Earth). They came from the blood of her mutilated husband, Uranus. They are also mentioned in the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.
As an auctioneer describes in the film’s opening, the Furies are “pursuers and tormentors of the wicked, until they atone for their crimes.” There’s Megaera (reluctantly), Tisiphone (punisher of murderers), and Alecto (incessantly). They are introduced to the film through this opening dialogue and through an art auction. Here we meet our villain, Bruce, played by the always entertaining Josh Ruben. He desperately wants a small statue of the Furies.
When another bidder, Kate (Malin Barr), spends more than him, he shows up at her house not long after. Before slitting her throat, he tells her that his customers just saw something beautiful and wanted it. However, he has no customers. He is a cold-blooded serial killer who sees women as something he must own and kill.
An injured fawn and female desk
Meredith plays Sarah Lind opposite Rubens Bruce. As both characters roam the art world, they meet at a gallery opening. Meredith has just come out of an abusive relationship, but she’s influenced by Bruce’s charm and knowledge of art history. She accepts his invitation to a weekend getaway at his remote cabin. Shortly after arriving, however, she hears voices warning her to get out and leave. It is certainly more than the wind.
Bruce’s controlling behavior can be seen almost immediately. During the long car ride, he squeezes her thigh frequently, despite her obvious discomfort. When she questions him about the cabin and the noises she keeps hearing, he winds her up and tells her to relax. He even accuses her of being overly dramatic. This plays on the long history of women being fired and labeled hysterical if they got too outspoken.
It’s clear from the start that Bruce intends to make Meredith his next victim, as a work of art to hang in his rustic cabin, or, more likely, to cram into a barrel in the middle of the woods with his other victims . However, this is not the kind of movie where the woman becomes the victim. Halfway through, the script flips and Bruce becomes the hunted instead of the hunter. Meredith doesn’t go down easily. That’s for sure. In act two, Bruce spends most of his time running from the Furies. They are around every corner.
The use of the Greek mythos by a wounded deer
Of a wounded fawn act one feels very much like a straightforward horror movie. Bruce is a creep who kills women. We have a gruesome scene within the first ten minutes when he slits Kate’s throat. The second act, however, feels very much like it could have been written by any of the three great Greek playwrights, only with a very surreal and feminist twist. For example, there is a notable change in the dialogue. It looks like a Greek play, just like the costumes. One of the Furies is clad in a brown robe and wearing a white stage mask, similar to a Greek choir. Bruce eventually wraps himself in a sheet that resembles a toga. The women torment Bruce by frequently yelling, “Killer! Killer!” Thief!”
There’s also a constant reminder of how gory these stories can be. While the film has a gritty 1970s aesthetic, there’s always a tinge of blood/red present. Bruce wears two red bracelets on his wrist. Meredith is shown in red underwear at one point, and when she clocks Bruce in the head with the statue of the Furies, his blood contrasts sharply with the cabin’s dull brown tones. These splashes of red are a constant sign of the violence that will unfold.
With his third feature, Stevens successfully uses Greek mythology, giving us an updated version of the Furies, while leaning heavily towards the aesthetic of a Greek drama. He continues to impress as a director, as he puts women at the center of his films. I can’t wait to see what he does next. An injured fawn is another hit that combines surrealism with classical Greco-Roman mythos, leading to a gruesome and justifiable payoff. This is a story of female agency and bloody revenge.
The feature is coming shiver on December 1. Keep up with the latest content from the streaming service by following my Shudder Secrets column.
Brian Fanelli is a poet and educator who also enjoys writing about the horror genre. His work has been published in The L.A. Times, World Literature Today, Schuylkill Valley Journal, horror living room, and elsewhere. On weekends, he enjoys going to the local drive-in movie theater with his wife or curling up on the couch and binge-watching movies with their cat, Giselle.
