Meander: Claustrophobic Thrills in a Burning Labyrinth

The opening shot of Meander (2021) is a close-up of Lisa’s terrified eyes, her breath ragged as she wakes up in a claustrophobic tube, the cold metal walls pressing in. This is Mathieu Turi’s horror-science fiction hybrid, a film that traps its audience as surely as it does its protagonist.

Lisa, played with visceral intensity by Gaia Weiss, finds herself in a nightmarish maze of burning tubes, her only guide a countdown bracelet that ticking away her dwindling time. The film’s premise is simple but effective: every eight minutes, fire erupts, forcing Lisa to crawl through the labyrinthine structure to survive. The tension is palpable from the outset, and Turi maintains it with tight editing and a relentless pace.

What works best in Meander is its atmosphere. The tubes are bathed in eerie, flickering light, casting long shadows that amplify the sense of dread. The sound design is equally effective, with the distant roar of fire and the echoing clangs of metal creating an immersive auditory landscape. Turi’s direction is confident, and he makes the most of his limited setting, using the tubes to create a visceral sense of claustrophobia.

The film also benefits from Weiss’s performance. She conveys Lisa’s desperation and fear with raw authenticity, making her character’s journey compelling. Peter Franzén as Adam and Romane Libert as Nina provide solid support, though their roles are somewhat overshadowed by the film’s central premise.

However, Meander falters in its execution of its backstory. The memories of Lisa’s dead daughter, which are meant to provide emotional depth and explanation for her predicament, feel tacked on and underdeveloped. The flashbacks disrupt the flow of the film, and their emotional impact is muted by the abruptness of their inclusion.

Additionally, the film’s pacing becomes uneven in its latter stages. The relentless tension of the first act gives way to moments of exposition that feel contrived and slow the momentum. The climax, while visually striking, lacks the emotional resonance it aims for, leaving the audience with a sense of unsatisfied curiosity rather than catharsis.

Meander is a film that excels in creating a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere but stumbles in its attempt to add emotional depth and narrative cohesion.