A Mother's Embrace (2024) - Horror Film Review

A Mother's Embrace - directed and co-written by Cristian Ponce (History of the Occult), has a classic set-up for a horror film, that of a strange mansion full of sinister people that someone finds themselves trapped in one dark and rainy night. From the trippy start I was hooked by the vibe of this. I have been guilty in the past of preferring style over substance, and that is likely the case here, yet, throw in some Lovecraftian cosmic horror to the mix and this became something I couldn't look away from.

Ana (the prolific Marjorie Estiano) is a firefighter based in Rio de Janeiro who has recently been allowed back to active duty after suffering a severe panic attack during a call. While out on a minor job, Ana and her team; who include fellow firefighter Roque (Reynaldo Machado), rookie driver Mourão (Rafael Canedo), and the captain - Dias (Val Perré), receive a call asking them to assist at a nursing home which has apparently partially collapsed. Arriving at the location they find the building intact, but protocol means they must still inspect the premises. This is much to the annoyance of the owner, with it clear the fire crew are disturbing an important night for her and her group. The crew quickly become aware of the terrible state of both the building and the elderly people who live there, with the building in such dangerous condition, and with a bad storm on the way, Ana convinces Dias to arrange an evacuation under the slight pretence that the building could collapse in the storm. Splitting up to check over the large retirement home, all four encounter very odd things going on, from cultists to snake/eel type creatures squirming around. Something vey weird is going on in the home this stormy evening.

I was gripped from the start of this. The prologue sequence has Ana as a child in the 1970's visiting a carnival with her mother before heading home and the mum trying to kill them both. I loved this opening and how it handled the event that occurred here. This feeds enough into the main film itself (that is set in 1996), that I often pondered whether Ana was actually alive, or living in some hellish afterlife. Even before the horror begins, Ana is hallucinating her deceased mother everywhere she goes, still looking exactly the same as she did back in the 1970's. This makes her as protagonist a bit unreliable. Seeing things from her perspective, it took me the longest time to work out if anything bad was actually occurring in the home or if she had just gone a bit loopy.
The location was fantastic, dank dreary sets that are full of neglect and abandonment, the rain outside, and the constant noise it makes is a welcome bit of icing on the cake. Despite being set primarily at night, the film is well lit in all the best ways, making use of the darkness to make potential horrors that more twisted, and use of light that you are never left watching and frustrated about not being able to see what is going on.

I appreciated the flow of the story here, it is a series of natural feeling instances that ramp up the horror inch by inch. It felt like a breath of fresh air that the antagonists appeared on the whole just as surprised to find Ana and her people there as they were to find themselves in the surreal situation. I also liked the increasingly less subtle Lovecraftian aspect to the story, it leads to some fun monstrous moments, such as people seemingly being controlled via large tentacle type creatures infesting their bodies. The mystery remains the core of this, Ana frequently finds herself away from what feels like would normally be the core story, she is much more focussed on rescuing a little girl who appears very unhappy to be there than really caring about what increasingly looks like the headquarters of some Old God worshipping cult. Some of the tentacle creatures shots look a little CG heavy, but the practical special effects look great here, and when there is a need to be, things can get quite bloody.

A Mother's Embrace was a film I loved, the setting was pitch perfect, and I am never going to be annoyed about the introduction of anything Lovecraftian in a horror film. It may be more about the style than anything else, the story remains relatively basic, though that is perhaps due to how little is ever explained to the viewer, or indeed, to the protagonist we follow for much of the 90 minute movie. With great atmosphere and interesting characters, I found myself having a great time watching this. A Mother's Embrace came exclusively to the streaming platform Screambox on September 16th.

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Lacuna (2021) - Horror Film Review

Lacuna is a Brazilian demonic possession film that was written and directed by Rodrigo Lages. Sure displays my lack of knowledge about languages as I was split between thinking this was either in Italian or French! While being a demonic possession film, it actually keeps that part slightly more grounded than a typical horror of this type. It makes for a bleak and morose movie dealing with the relative of the possessed, rather than the possessed themself.

Ever since her father passed away, Sofia (Lorena Comparato) has had to deal with her mother, Helena's (Kika Kalache) erratic behaviour. This culminates in a car accident that leaves the woman in a coma, with it unknown if she will recover from it. It isn't too long however before she does awaken, with her moving in to Sofia's apartment so that she can be looked after. The coma has changed Helena however, she becomes extremely withdrawn, prone to episodes of self harm, and often found muttering to herself in an unknown language. After Sofia discovers a notebook full of disturbing drawings and strange writing, she, with the help of her work colleague Dante (Guilherme Prates), reaches out to a demonology expert, to see if what is happening to her mother may not be medical in nature.

It appears rather early on that Helena may be possessed, with a shadowy figure that appears and disappears around her. There are no floating objects or spinning heads, instead the horror is more grounded in that it feels like Helena is a bit of an empty vessel since the accident (the title 'Lacuna' being a word meaning an unfilled space). She has brief moments of clarity it seems to Sofia, and her behaviour is alarming but not something that makes Sofia feel she herself is in any sort of danger. Much of the film takes place away from Helena, with Sofia and company trying to find out what is happening. The middle of the film is when the demonology investigator makes an appearance, I liked that he doesn't really get much chance to interact with the protagonist, he knows far more than he lets on, but doesn't get a chance to reveal his knowledge. This leads to a bit of an obvious later twist, it may not have surprised, but it was well implemented, calling back to earlier events in the movie, while also showing how Helena came to be possessed.

This was a dark film, literally, with lots of it taking place at night. There were a few flashback sequences, but not enough to really show more of the relationship between mother and daughter that well. Outside of one sequence, it was never shown they had a good bond, and so her present day interactions with the disinterested woman doesn't really feel any different to their fractured relationship before the events of the movie. Special effects are used sparingly, often with key moments happening between scenes, they are effective however. Comparato was fine as the protagonist character, I thought Dante was a bit bland and generic. I thought Kalache managed to do a lot with a little. Despite her being near mute the entire film, her tallness and gaunt look made for a somewhat intimidating presence.

Lacuna succeeded as a horror film as there was no light to be found here. I do enjoy demonic possession films and thought this did something a little different, while also feeling influenced by films such as Hereditary, but keeping more grounded on the whole. Perhaps a little slow, I wouldn't have minded a little more happening here, but it told its story well enough. Lacuna came to Blu-ray and EST/VOD/SVOD digital platforms on 28th November, and became available to view on AVOD on 1st January from Bayview Entertainment.

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Raquel 1:1 (2022) - Thriller Film Review

I have to began to rearrange the times I watch films for review, figuring late at night is the best time to watch horror films rather than first thing in the morning. I don't yet know how that will impact on my memory, typically I would write a review immediately after viewing a movie, but not being a night owl means I literally 'sleep on it' before writing the review as soon as I wake up. Mariana Bostos' Raquel 1:1 bills itself as a thriller, but I would argue it isn't even that, which isn't to say it didn't deserve a spot on this horror themed blog.

Raquel (Valentina Herszage) is a teenage girl who has recently moved to a small town alongside her father, Hermes (Emílo de Mello), and who has recently became heavily interested in religion. She shows interest in joining the local church group, and it is after she has travelled to a nearby lake in the jungle with a few of the members that she has an epiphany. Having heard strange noises coming from a nearby cave, she investigates and returns to town a changed woman. She becomes convinced that she has been instructed by God to do a revision of the Bible, specifically to change the many outdated sexist passages to be found there. Some of the other church members decide to break away and join her in recreating the Bible, but many others see what she is doing as blasphemy, and soon Raquel finds herself and her father becoming increasingly ostracised from the community.

What I enjoyed most about Raquel 1:1 was the trippy vibe that permeated the ninety minute run time. The wonderful soundtrack melds with the visuals to give a feeling of other worldliness to the story playing out. It helps that Raquel herself, while definitely the protagonist, doesn't really speak that much over the course of the movie. In many scenes she is content to sit or stand there in silence, with strange half smiles on her face. Her personal horror comes not only from being made into an outcast, but also the obvious signs of her having PTSD, related to an incident with her mother and her step-father which only plays out as dialogue during scenes when Raquel falls into a trance-like state. These feed into key scenes in the movie, such as an incident at a church disco, and also into the finale, which may or may not be all in the protagonists head. I liked that there wasn't a definite resolution provided, instead I think it was up to the viewer to decide what had actually occurred. Personally I chose the most 'out there' explanation and am happy with deciding that is what happened, but you could just as easily see elements of the movie as taking place more in Raquel's damaged mind.

The press release called the film a 'religious thriller' and religion does play a large part here. The local church group are almost zealots, and their attempts to 'cure' Raquel of her journey down the incorrect path leads to much of the friction. I am not hugely into religion personally, but with the many sexist passages specifically referenced with bible passages, it seems they do exist in that actual book. A subplot involving Raquel's new friend Laura (Eduarda Samara) and her experience with a seemingly devout Christian also looks at the mismatch between female and male roles in society, especially in relation to Brazil, in which the film is set. All of this may not sound like a horror or a thriller in the slightest, but it is the way the film is shot and framed which bring horror elements. Raquel's first journey to the mysterious cave for instance is filmed as pure horror, while the film maintains a slightly unsettling feel to it, thanks again to that fantastic soundtrack.

This review may be an early demonstration that sleeping in-between watching and reviewing a film might not be the best idea. I admit to parts of this being fuzzy upon my waking memory. I at least remembered enough to know that I loved the vibe with this one. The version I watched was occasionally hard to follow due to the English subtitles often appearing before characters actually spoke their lines (the language being Portuguese), but I still found myself invested in the story, and wanting the protagonist to succeed. Raquel 1:1 had its world premiere at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and went on to play at other film festivals. It came to digital platforms on February 14th via Breaking Glass Pictures.

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Beyond the Grave (2010) - Zombie Horror Film Review

Beyond the Grave is a Brazilian post apocalyptic zombie film that has won 14 international awards and been selected for over 80 film festivals world wide. I call it a zombie film yet these undead ghouls take a backseat to what feels like a Mad Max/Western mash up.

After the seven gates of Hell opened up and unleashed the living dead onto the world mankind fell into ruins. In this dead world  Rafael Tombini stars as an unnamed police officer who is still trying to do his job. He is hunting a supernatural figure known as the 'Dark Rider' who not only may be responsible for unleashing the apocalypse but also has ties into the officer's past before the world ended. His travels lead him to a small group of friendly survivors but when their safety becomes threatened he sets off on a path of revenge.

Beyond the Grave has a lot of trappings of the Western genre. From the nameless hero who is too busy with his mission to be a good guy to the mournful music and long shots of empty vistas (usually an unending road here) as well as slow action scenes the officer is like a modern day Clint Eastwood, albeit one who wears a black suit and wears a cracked pair of spectacles. Only talking when necessary and armed with a samurai sword and pistol he is an interesting character and one who spends the film with a bulletless gun (after using all his ammo in the intro sequence) that makes for some interesting scenarios. His opposite; the Dark Rider dresses like a cowboy and wears a gas mask. This being of evil is able to come back from the dead and is armed with a gun that fires bullets made from bones. Out of all the characters in the film these are two who really stand out being polar opposites of each other and both fixed with a drive to defeat the other.

There are quite a few zombies to be found here but they pose such little threat that no one really takes them seriously. They move painfully slowly and often don't even seem interested in the living though their bite will turn one still. With the supernatural element it is suggested they go wherever the Dark Rider goes but they are figures of pity more than of dread with the Rider and his lackeys who are the real monsters of the film.

The Kill Bill style story of revenge is quite well handled and gives drive to root for the officer, a mid film plot twist I did not expect and really was quite brutal and unexpected. The middle of the film has a short interlude set before the apocalypse which was a nice buffer for the 90 minute piece while either side is lots of mournful silence and driving around punctuated with lo-fi action set pieces. The bad guys all have distinct looks to them and there are some interesting ideas used. One of the bad guys is armed with a harmonica that plays a note that makes people's ears and eyes bleed for instance.

While in Spanish there is not too much dialogue to begin with anyway. There are musings on the futility of living and the lack of trust in the world now that no one can really be trusted, while the best parts come as the officer is driving around in his cool looking car and a lone radio station broadcasts music inter cut with a man talking about his sad past and how the world has ended. This radio is used to flesh out the back story of the world in a more natural way than characters suddenly mentioning the cause.

The film has quite a low budget it seems but this works for the wasteland where the only places visited are dilapidated, blood smeared buildings and special effects are practical ones that just gave me a nostalgic hit of 70's and 80's exploitation films. My only real complaint there is that a crossbow that is used quite a lot is completely silent, at times I got briefly confused when people fell down dead until it showed the close up shot of a wooden bolt sticking out of them. A big finale that I was looking forward to (and turned out not exactly the finale) was over all too quickly and left me a bit disappointed. The characters all seem fine, there was no one that particularly seemed terrible, was just a shame that the English subtitles were not perfect and so sometimes I had to translate in my head what was actually meant to be said.

Beyond the Grave was an interesting piece, very different to the norm and I loved how the zombies were handled with them seeming like victims rather than true monsters. A sombre look at the fate of mankind with a great soundtrack. This is currently free to watch on Hulu USA.

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