‘LAMB’ Review: An A24 unsettling child in sheep’s clothing

Plot Description: “A childless couple, María and Ingvar, discover a mysterious newborn on their farm in Iceland. The unexpected prospect of family life brings them much joy, before ultimately destroying them.”

If you are looking for a gorgeous horror film, bathed in the ambiance of the ASMR of a farm, this one may be for you. Oh and there’s a hybrid lamb baby involved. Still for you?

The new A24 slow burn horror, Lamb, directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson, could be considered a silent film. There’s probably only fifteen minutes of dialogue and the rest is all ASMR of a sheep farm in Iceland. Sandwiched between the silence is a story that as unsettling as it is, kept my eyes glued to the screen.

Three chapters make up Lamb. Chapter 1 is the daily rural life of married couple, Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snær Guðnason, on an Icelandic sheep farm. Their quiet (and I mean quiet, hear a pin drop in the theatre, do not move an inch quiet) life is shot like a gorgeous episode of Chef’s Table. During chapter 1 I highly suggest not ordering any gooey snacks, there are a few live sheep births that I wasn’t ready for. The chapter ends with the birth of something that only results in a few “meet cute” looks from our main characters instead of the true emotions anyone in their right mind would have.

Chapter 2 of Lamb is where the film suddenly becomes something else. We meet Ada, the half lamb, half baby that was birthed from a sheep on the farm we saw in chapter 1. The couple take the baby in without as much as a conversation and bam, half lamb baby is the new normal for this film. The baby, named Ada, takes on a Stuart Little vibe, dressed in jumpers and nicer sweaters than most people in an Anthropology ad have.

Chapter 3 is for you to watch. If you want. There’s an ending unlike most A24 ambitious horror films where you have to connect your own dots. I laughed out loud accidentally at the last 5 minutes because I didn’t know what to make of it. The whole theatre didn’t really know what to do and we all sort of wanted to chat but knew to keep quiet.

Lamb is a beautiful film that encapsulates a weird Ikea horror commercial setting. I liked the lamb baby, Ada. I loved her. Honestly her imagery is iconic in my head now. A lamb baby in a little jumper and a flower crown? I mean come on A24, give me the merch.

But what Lamb lacks is truth. Our characters just sort of go about this insane series of events with a more casual nature than any married couple trying to just make it through a Trader Joe’s parking lot. I could see something weird happening on a farm. A baby lamb hybrid? That seemed weirdly plausible. But a couple just adopting it with a simple look in the eyes and a perfect color matching family outfit set? I don’t know about that.

This art house film is not for everyone, it’s for a certain niche of unsettling horror fans who aren’t shocked by much. There’s no gore. There’s no genuine true “horror” to the film at all if I’m being honest. It’s just an unsettling, quiet film that made me want a stuffed mini lamb baby hybrid doll due to pure cuteness.

My final thoughts?

In the end Lamb is an A24, odd, cute Disney animal in a coat, meets some truly off kilter insanity, all presented in a comfy little box with characters that are merely unbelievable. I don’t know how to feel about this movie. I feel like there’s a lot of metaphorical, read deeper plots I didn’t seem to find, but I tried to dig. I tried to see past what was being presented and it all got a little blurry.

Maybe just look up screenshots of Ada the lamb baby and enjoy how cute she is.

Rating: Between a C- and a D+

Cassie Brown

Writer. Geek. Final Girl.