The Windmill Massacre (2016) – Dutch Horror Film Review

The Windmill Massacre is a Dutch Horror film that is a good match for viewers who don’t like subtitles because it’s produced in English. Early scenes from the film are shot in and around Amsterdam’s Red Light District but the majority of The Windmill Massacre is set in the Dutch countryside.

British actress Charlotte Beaumont stars as Jennifer Harris, an Australian who is in the Netherlands working as a nanny, under a false name.

The opening scenes show her interacting with the little boy and girl of the family that’s hosting her. All appears well until the children’s father enters the room and asks to speak to Jennifer.

Taking her into the hall, he holds up her passport and asks if he should call her Julie or Jennifer. Jennifer says she can explain, but her employer says she can explain to the police and refuses to return her passport.

When he tries to detain her, Jennifer breaks a vase over his head, escapes into the street, and runs off alongside the canal.

Later that evening, a British Royal Marine accidentally kills a prostitute while visiting the Red Light District and flees the area.

In subsequent scenes, Jennifer has to take steps to avoid the police, who are obviously searching for someone. She presumes they are seeking her, but it seems more likely they are after the marine.

Keen to get out of the city, Jennifer bluffs her way onto a rather old-looking tour bus. The marine, whose name is Jackson, gets on the same bus, which has five other passengers—a work-obsessed businessman called Douglas, his son Carl, a French photographer called Ruby, Takashi, a Japanese university student, and Nicholas, a middle-aged doctor who is battling a drug problem. The only other person on the bus is Aben the driver.

Jennifer is abviously a troubled girl who has something to hide. Scenes showing her pill bottle indicate she also requires medication. When the pills run out, her behaviour becomes erratic. She also becomes prone to hallucinations.

After awakening from a nightmare, Jennifer thinks she sees a man in front of the bus and shouts for Abe to stop. He slams on the brakes, but nobody is there. The problem is, the bus won’t start and the group find themselves stranded on top of a dyke with a canal on one side and dense woodland on the other.

Jennifer sees a spooky windmill through the trees and, feeling responsible for the group’s present predicament, offers to go to the mill and seek help. Jackson offers to go with her, while everyone else stays on the bus.

When they are walking through the woods, Jackson sees something on the ground. It’s a boot that matches the boots the prostitute was wearing when he killed her. This takes him aback. Then, without warning a grim reaper-like figure appears behind him and slices through the soldier’s legs, just below the knees.

Jackson shouts for Jennifer to run, which she does while the monster stamps on Jackson’s head, reducing it to a pulp.

When Jennifer gets back to the bus, nobody believes her story. Nicholas, who has seen her empty pill bottle makes matters worse by stating her medication is often used to control psychotic episodes.

However, as the body count rises, even Douglas who, at one point insisted Jennifer be tied up, is forced to change his opinion. This is largely due to a grisly wake-up call he received while exploring the ominous-looking mill.

Thanks to Nicolas and Abe, who are both familiar with a local legend, the surviving members of the trip figure out what’s going on. According to the legend, hundreds of years ago the miller was executed for witchcraft, and making a deal with the devil, after people found he’d been milling his victims’ bones to make flour. They also burned his mill to the ground. Strangely, the mill the tour party is near does not appear on their maps.

The Windmill Massacre is marketed with the promise it’s like Jeepers Creepers meets Friday the 13th. That’s not a bad analogy. It’s a good film that offers a unique combination of slasher film and supernatural thriller. It’s very well done and managed to surprise me at times. There’s more to some of the characters than meets the eye and the sight of the demonic miller is not something most viewers are likely to forget in a hurry.

The Windmill Massacre only appears to have had limited exposure, especially outside of Western Europe. It’s a film many horror fans may be unaware of and is definitely worth seeking out.