Horror film Mamochka has a weird title (translates as Mammy), so it is fitting that it has a vibe that reflects that weirdness. Directed and written by Vilan Trub (The Dirty Kind), this psychological horror doesn't make an effort to make a lot of sense and is all the better for it.
After her detestable mother dies, she leaves her daughter Jane (Maya Murphy - Rosewater) a china doll that has been in the family for generations. This begins a series of strange events for the family. First, young son Brian (Stanley Trub) has an odd altercation with teenage babysitter Sarah (Sadie Stone in her film debut), and then it is the turn of husband Mark (Alexander Kollar - Kids Get Dead 2: The Kids Get Deader). Wanting to know more about the doll (specifically if it is worth anything to sell), Mark takes it to a doll expert who informs him that it is a 'Nazi' doll; a doll that was made in a German factory during World War II and may well have used the hair of a concentration camp victim in its creation. This leads the man down a rabbit hole into the history of the Nazi party. This causes him to get more sympathetic towards the Nazi ideology, and increasingly protective of the creepy doll.
With the feeling of an indie David Lynch film, Mamochka was odd to say the least. It is never entirely clear what is real and what isn't. Early on for instance, a whole day plays out for Mark, only for him to wake up in bed and realise it was all a dream. He then goes about his day that plays very similarly to what he had already experienced. This follows on from a black and white nightmare sequence where he discovers a cackling naked old woman in his kitchen! Characters appear who may not actually exist (standout being Dino Castelli - Jim Haggerty's Unnatural Causes). There are scenes of horror that end before their resolution and a very bizarre ending that leaves large swaths of the story unresolved.
Mamochka is never scary but it does carry with it a strange surreal vibe with events playing out using dream logic. Mark was fine as the protagonist, but I didn't really like or dislike him. I thought Castelli played the standout character here, seeming to be the physical manifestation of the doll's evil. Scenes were well shot, leading to some tense moments, and I thought the inclusion of classical music fitted the strange vibe well. The doll itself is a static object rather than something that is running around causing mischief. This works though, with it seeming to have a sphere of influence that is able to forever change anyone who enters the zone.
If you come to this weird horror expecting a cohesive story then it may leave you frustrated. It has the feel of a half remembered dream where it is not so much about the story, but about the atmosphere. As will be evident with this review (not one of my best!), I may have struggled to understand the intention of this horror, but this created a tone and feeling that at the very least will have you thinking. Mamochka opened the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival in the UK on January 16th and had a limited VOD release on January 27th. It is currently available on Amazon Prime in the US and UK.
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