Paradise Hills is a 2019 American-Spanish science fiction fantasy film about girls put in a mysterious boarding school located on an island to be reformed into the women that others surrounding them want them to be.
From Fantasia Festival 2019: Set in a dystopian future with flying cars and higher and lower society mentality, Paradise Hills is nevertheless deeply grounded in its fantasy roots. That’s where where Uma (Emma Roberts) ends up, a ‘reform island’ that is clearly a collection of many familiar fairy tale archetypes. Apart from the room where she wakes up, which is moody and artificial, her first walk through the grounds is one that is full of bright pastel colors and breezy florals, resembling an Alice in Wonderland parallel, which becomes more obvious as darker themes emerge and a deeper knowledge of the place become more clear. Each new territory she discovers is both fantastical and mysterious and as Uma forms sisterhood bonds with others, including Amarna (Eiza Gonzalez), Chloe (Danielle Macdonald), and Yu (Awkwafina), her two-week stay at the titular island has her settling into the lifestyle, even as she remains resistant to be changed into the girl that is desired by others on the outside.
Roberts has done similar roles like this in other indie films before, but this one feels more accomplished, which might have to do with the actresses around her. Gonzalez, Macdonald, and Awkwafina all portray variations on different types of girls, living around people with multiple expectations and levels of acceptance to their situation. When faced with a passive-aggressive “headmistress” named The Duchess (Milla Jovovich), the conflicts between Uma and the girls generate real tension and friction, Jovovich once again going strong. The Duchess is a meaty character and she takes commands with every opportunity, her costumes, dialogue, and more giving her a lot of room to play around with the manipulative and coercive nature of it all.
Adapted for the screen by director Alice Waddington and co-written by Nacho Vigalondo, Paradise Hills is well-told and directed with striking visuals, costumes, camera angles, and the a creepy ambiance. It never rushes, reveals slow to come, hints building subtle tension as we and the characters discover the myriad mysteries in store, they searching for answers with great urgency to escape. Either way, this is a strange delight, Waddington, in her debut, delivering an impressive thriller well worth exploring.