Review: You Are Not My Mother

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

You Are Not My Mother
Directed by Kate Dolan
Bankside Films; Fantastic Films; Screen Ireland; Magnolia Pictures; Magnet Releasing
93 minutes, 2022
http://www.magnetreleasing.com/youarenotmymother/

There is an actual psychiatric disorder, Capgras Syndrome, where people believe their loved ones have been replaced by duplicates for various reasons. Actor Tony Rosato (“SCTV,” “SNL”; d. 2017) was perfectly normal in the day-to-day, but was committed to a hospital because if he came into contact with any of his family, he became violent because he believed they were replicants.

Dublin (Ireland) high school art student Char (Hazel Doupe, who has amazing and penetrating blue eyes), like any other kid her age, is under a lot of pressure: she’s being bullied by a bunch of kids in and out of school, and in her own home, her mom, Angela (Carolyn Bracken) has been acting absent and now has made that physical by disappearing, uncle Aaron (Paul Reid) is trying to stay calm about the chaos going on around the family, and grandmother Rita (Ingrid Craigie) is a bit of a mystery, as the very chilling prologue shows us.

Hazel Doupe

The second act opens with the mom’s return, which I’m not giving anything away if you read the title. She’s different though, sometimes normal and affectionate, others stoic, sitting in a chair silently; and then there are the hyper-aggressive moments. Char begins to wonder if, well, again, the name of the film. At this point, there is definitely a Hereditary (2018) vibe going on, especially after the prologue, though whether that is accurate by the end or not I probably won’t say in the review. There are also a couple of bits strewn throughout that reminds me of the original version of The Wicker Man (1973). Even the parents of her bully classmates, the latter of which is Suzzanne (Jordanne Jones), who lives next door, warns her to stay away from Char and her kith and kin.

There are so many ways this can go, but the supernatural seems like the most – er – natural given the storyline, the circumstances and hints, such as a pagan cross on the wall. Then there is the image on the film’s poster, which gives away a bit too much, and yet is just right for drawing an audience. I’m not quite sure how much of this tale is original, or based on Irish legends (perhaps the Banshee?). Still, once it picks up the pace, that seems less important than what is happening on the screen.

The film starts off with a very, very slow burn, but introduces the characters nicely. It really starts to pick up once mummy dearest comes home, thanks to her erratic and sometimes violent behavior. It is also a film that is strongly female-based, and in fact, Aaron is the only consistent male character throughout. But this is not a “men-bad-women-good” film, as there are both positive and negative female characters, such as lead bully, Kelly (Katie White), and Aaron is not a masculinist meathead. That was quite refreshing. To be honest, there were a couple of comeuppances I was looking forward to that never came, which for me was the film’s weakest point, but between mummy and daughter, there was a few pretty novel ideas thrown in that are noteworthy, but I will keep my lips sealed to keep the spoiler alert triggers down to a minimum.

Carolyn Bracken

This could be considered a Halloween-themed film, as it takes place in the weeks before the holiday, which of course is another clue of the film’s possible direction. Here it is in May, and it really does seem like a good/necessary time to be looking towards what I am assuming is an important holiday to whomever is reading this review.

This isn’t a gore-fest, but it has its violent moments that work really well in its more subtle form. Nothing is needed to be proven, as this is heavily character- and story-driven. The SFX looks great, when it is flashed, so pay attention!

Much of the cast is quite young, but holds their own with the more seasoned older actors. While Doupe shines in this, it is Bracken who steals the scenes as a mom on the verge of …

The film is dark and shadowy, even the outside shots, thanks to it always being overcast (well, it is Ireland). Very well shot by cinematographer Narayan Van Maele, it is moody, brooding, and yes, mysterious.

After years of shorts and music videos, this is director and writer Kate Dolan‘s feature debut. Her pacing could be picked up a bit, but generally this is a very fine film, and a welcome addition to the genre.

IMBD Listing HERE 

Review: Brackenmore

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018

Images from the Internet

Brackenmore

Directed by Chris Kemble and JP Davidson

Caragh Lake Films; Upstream Films; MVD Visual

72 minutes, 2016 / 2018

www.facebook.com/BrackenmoreMovie

www.mvdvisual.com

When I was in grade school, I had a teacher who posited that if our room was sealed off from the one next door, after 100 years or so it would probably be hard for the two classes to understand each other. I didn’t know what she was talking about then, but it stuck with me, and has resonated to me throughout my life.

That is sort of the premise of films like this and, say, The Wicker Man (1973) and Jug Face (2013), where remote villages come to have different gods that call on sacrifice and odd worship. For this film, it’s the isolated Irish titular town, where people mysteriously and regularly show up sneaking around in white death masks and stereotypically cultish long robes with cowls. No one ever does mention the Old Ones, though.

I

nto this peculiarity comes lovely Kate (Sophie Hopkins), who is summoned from London because her uncle has passed away, leaving her his modest estate (okay, small house) in town. She was born there, and is told to be his only living relative after she survived a car crash in her youth that killed her parents (i.e., the films prologue).

Everyone is acting oddly around her giving off a “what’ca doin’ in these here parts, stranger?” vibe. It’s pretty easy to figure out that the game is afoot, especially thanks to those masked folks showing up on the story’s periphery, circling ever closer. The lodging house in which she is staying and the lawyer handing the real estate in the late uncle’s will are, in the words of a friend of mine about this kind of thing, just not.

She gets cozy with a local named Tom (DJ McGrath), who shows her around town, unbeknownst to her hubby Allyn (Joe Kennard) back in London Town. While there are other people in the town, essentially Tom, the boarding house couple and the lawyer are just about all we meet in talking roles for the locals. We also don’t get to see too much of the town proper, as it seem to focus mostly on the indoors, other than the front of the houses on which the story focuses and a bit of the wooded area around the lake.

Events start to ramp up on this idyllic spot as someone in a mask and, yes, a cape with a cowl, attacks Kate, but she proves resourceful in what feels like a better way than most films that have women just be blade-fodder. Of course, the local constabulary accuses her of a night gone wrong, what with the attacker being a local and she being a…

It’s hard to tell in the story, and I liked this, whether certain actions are meant to scare her off into leaving, acts of retaliation of local vs. foreigner, or forcing her to stay. I guessed right, by the way.

There are little and subtle things that caught my eye though. For example, in the lawyer’s office there is a binder on a self behind Kate that has, in handwritten letters, 1916. This is an important date in relatively modern Irish history being the same year as Éirí Amach na Cásca, also known as the Easter Rising. No wonder the cop was critical about someone from London.

Along the way, there are hints about what is happening, such as a radio station going wild in the prologue, but mostly the story follows a line that feels familiar, with some elements that have been seen before in these kinds of genre films, even as far back as some Hammer Films,

The film is beautifully shot, and Hopkins is certainly easy on the eyes; she reminds me a bit of Kiera Knightly (if the latter were attractive), being lean of form and a strong chin. Smartly, the film goes for the tight, near claustrophobic closeness of the village, making it seem even smaller than it probably is (filmed in County Cork), especially since we are focused on a particular group of people. Of course, it also is a good way to keep the budget down (which I respect).

There are definitely some clichés here and there, and the big reveal of a specific person is a duh moment, but there are others you may not see coming, so I guess it’s still a “win.” While the ending is enjoyable, it also is a bit unclear. Call me crazy, but it feels like at one time this was a slightly different story, and they edited certain parts out (might explain there being two directors?). For example, during its filming, the working title was Banshee: Beyond the Lake, and there is even a Banshee listed in the IMDB credits, but I don’t remember seeing one. I enjoy Banshee stories, and I was puzzled. Perhaps in the sequel (which I would happily watch if there is one), or in a Director’s Cut version? I’m not sure. But what I am positive of is that I would have liked to have heard a commentary track that might answer some of my questions. Again, perhaps the Director’s Cut version at some point will do this. Meanwhile, the only extra available on this DVD is the chapter breaks.

The cast is all great, with Hopkins being outstanding by expressing a large range of emotions, and the accents don’t be doin’ no harm, either. There aren’t too many bloody scenes, but when it’s there, it’s a cornucopia of the red goo. A couple of other really good SFX appear here and there from Pitch Black Films, as well. Despite it all and because of the acting and cinematography¸ I’m happy I had the chance to see this, though I’m still scratching my head just a bit.

Review: Beyond the Woods

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2017

Images from the Internet

Beyond the Woods

Written and directed by Sean Breathmach

EGO Productions / Superego

82 minutes, 2016

www.beyondthewoodshorror.com

www.facebook.com/beyondthewoodshorrorfilm

I could be wrong, but I’m thinking that the name of this Irish film is a play on the tile Into the Woods, just further so. If that is the case, I like the pun. After all, the Grimm Faerie Tales were actually mostly horror stories, were they not?

Anyway, if you don’t mind a gross generalization perhaps unfairly based on a limited group, this is the second Irish genre film I’ve seen in the past bit, and they both have one thing in common. Like Don’t You Recognise Me? [2015], the story is taken off a relatively generic formula, and then follows through into its own direction. The other was a tale of revenge, whereas this one is based on the cabin in the woods trope.

Irene Kelleher

Here, rather than a wood shack, it is a very lovely two-story stone house of an age that may predate the US that is the locus of a gathering of seven friends: three couples and an odd wheel who was recently dumped. They decide to get away from it all to this place that was once a vacation home to one of their parents. Their plan is to spend it relaxing, dishing dirt, and quite a bit of the raising of the wrist and imbibing with some other fine substances to alter the mind.

Shortly before they even get there, we learn that a large sinkhole has opened down the way, which releases the bitter smell of sulphur across the countryside. Now, in a genre film, burning sulphur is never a good sign. Before long, of course, they are not alone. There is a figure who looks like he’s covered in tree bark (or dung/mud, it’s hard to tell), and you know he’s up to no good because, again…genre film.

We are told early on, indirectly, just what is behind the hole, the smell and the evil that is in the air the first night when we see a digital clock turn from 5:56 to 666 (no colon) and back. And it is the biggest mix-up that you have ever seen, as the minions of Ole Slew Foot are lurking. Even though we only get to see one demon, that’s surely enough to turn things from a good mood release weekend to one of damnation and death. Again, it is a genre film.

The big bad dude in the cape and hoodie looks like he has bark attached to his body. Though I’m not really sure about that, as we see him mostly in shadow (a smart move, honestly), it would make sense to me, as Ireland is known for its greenery and nature.

Mark Griffin

Using the mirror-doesn’t-reflect-reality paradigm, we know that the intensity is growing. Tensions begin to rise between the friends and unexpected connections occur to further stress their bonds. What we are left to wonder – again, the right choice – is whether this deep-level angst is normal for this group dynamics, or is it the ever-more pervasive influence of whatever is in the woods.

The tension that builds does so pretty slowly, but not enough to lose the interest of wondering where this will take the viewer. Sure there’s a hint of The Evil Dead and even a bit from Stephen King’s short story, “You Know They’ve Got a Hell of a Band,” as well as other sources, but there is a definite different feel. For example, these are not teens, so the conversation isn’t just wondering about getting laid or telling ghost stories. There is also an avoidance of other stereotypes, like the old guy warning the group, or the jock, the nerd and the homely girl who becomes lovely as a soon as she takes off her glasses, I’m happy and grateful to say. These are adults with adult foibles, and I respect that and enjoy the maturity of what the director is accomplishing (i.e., teens aren’t the only ones that have to worry).

Stripped back in the story and effects, surely due to budget limitations, we don’t lose anything because of that. While most of the action does happen at the rising of the moon, there are mysterious things about even during the day. As time goes on during the weekend, actions continue to ramp up until the third act of desperation and death for… well, you’ll just hafta find out, woncha?

Ruth Hayes

The cast, for once, is populated by professional actors of a higher caliber, so we get some decent playing, and yet not so much experience where there is sleepwalking through the parts. As far as I can tell, as I’m not that up on Irish actors, there are also no cameos by slumming bigger named players past their prime, or cult genre name performers. Happily, his works for the zeitgeist of the whole she-bang.

That being said, the camera does lovingly tend to focus on the diminutive and dimple-deep Irene Kelleher, who indirectly comes out as the “star,” but each character gets their shot, much as a band that has everyone do a solo to show their chops.

While sex is involved at some point, there is no pressing of the flesh seen, and the blood and gore is kept to a minimum; when it is applied, however, it  however, is kept to a minimum,. t, there is no pressing of the flesh seen, and the blood and gore is kept to a minimum, when iis quite effective. Some of the scenes are a bit on the dark side, but not so much you can’t follow the action, so I’m okay with it.

While this certainly isn’t a perfect film – for example, if a creature can kill with a mere touch, why would he pick up an ax? – all things considered, it is a well done production that takes what we know and mixes it into a new-ish recipe. Worth checking out.

Review: Don’t You Recognise Me?

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2016

Images from the Internet

Don’t You Recognise Me?

Written and directed by Jason Figgis

October Eleven Pictures

80 minutes, 2015 / 2016

www.facebook.com/jason.figgis

In an Amusing Ourselves to Death world, according to Neil Postman in 1985, entertainment becomes our focus, rather than the real world around us, leading to the collapse of culture. Examples of this abound, with some people walking off cliffs in search of non-existent Pokémon Go characters, others drive two-ton machines full speed down a highway or crowded street while texting. There are also those who would rather watch sports than participate in them or other actually important social contract behavior such as voting for a viable leader; they’d rather opinionate without doing the research, or instead watch a woman with three dragons take sword to kings on television. But it runs both ways, as not only are there viewers, but there are also the creators of such distractions.

In Ireland, as we are introduced to this story, is Tony Aiello (Matthew Toman), a slimy Geraldo-style “journalist” with no moral compass, whose purpose in life is to find people to interview, and make them look as foolish in documentaries. With his film crew (Alan Rogers on camera and the cute Emma Dunlop on sound boom), he has lined up his latest victims, obtained from social media contact: the Gallagher family, small-time operators who are willing to let Aiello into their world. But right from the start, the viewer knows that something is rotten in the state of County Dublin. The title of the film even hints at it.

I promise I won’t go into spoiler alert territory, but it soon becomes obvious that while Aiello is playing the Gallaghers for his own gain, the tide will soon turn for ominous reasons.

The Gallaghers and their crew are a nutsy bunch, showing that a level of insanity may run in this family and group, possibly on the Usher level (the EA Poe story, not the singer, so back off). K (Jason Sherlock) is the pretty face that draws the flies to the spider, as it were, but it is brother Daz (Darren Travers) who is in charge of the operation (and it’s Travers who steals just about any scene he’s in). Also aiding them silently in a possible Leatherface nod is Nickey Gallagher, aka Babyface, for reasons that are immediately obvious (played menacingly by the very muscular and intimidating director, Jason Figgis).

If I may pull back and digress here a mo, this documentary style filming is an offshoot of the found footage subgenre, in that those on camera filming the story are actually shooting the film, as well. There is a nice touch as the scenes cut between the two camera, and you hear the differences in the sound from each (the quality changes between the boom and the home videocamera, for example, or those closer to the shooting are louder than those further away). For once, not balancing the sound makes sense.

Starting off slow, the menacing and alarm levels start to kick in at about 15 or 20 minutes (the first of which are used for exposition), and then continue to increase exponentially. By the time everything is explained out, the viewer will cringe, but at the same time has some sense of identification with the retribution-seeking Gallaghers.

Darren Travers as Daz

Joining the family is some friends, including two camera people (video and still), and the hair obsessed Terese (Shauna Ryan), an intense woman who does not take kind to insult and is often saying, “You take that back!” There is actually a lot of repetition of dialog by many of the characters, such as Daz’s insistence to just about everyone, “Are you gettin’ this?!” It actually makes it even more frightening rather than “samey” as you see the level of madness – both in the level of anger and craziness – reaches the crescendo. That aspect also gave it a real feeling, perhaps of improv on the part of the actors. Anyway, it works.

If I could change any one thing in this film, I would add subtitles, as sometimes the accents get a bit thick, but it’s always easy to pick out the oft used “fook.” Perhaps the option will be on the DVD release, but there are parts where I really had no idea what was being said literally, but the intent was loud and clear so I don’t think I really missed anything.

There is little blood in the film, and much of the actual violence is done off-screen, but that does not hinder the level of both malevolence and banality of evil that are present. Bleak has its place in life, and this story certainly lends itself to just that. In fact, it is the quality of the story and the compassion for the characters that actually arises out of that despair, even with the excess violence.

Figgis seems to revel in the bleak, such as in his previous film reviewed on this blog, Children of a Darker Dawn (HERE). That being said, it should be added that he excels in it, as well, even with the feeling that it could have been edited down a bit. However, it is also enhanced by the mostly subtly and dissonant notes of a really fine score by Michael Richard Plowman.

Sure there is no sign of cell phones, nicely making the timing of the film a bit up in the air, but even so the prevalence of technology still manages to make itself felt, as both sides of the table document the situation, including some group shots of both victims and victors, even though in the long run, everybody loses a bit of their own soul, and not just to the image as some religions believe about taking pictures.

Film's Trail to Be Added Shortly...

Review: Childen of a Darker Dawn

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2015
Images from the Internet

Children of a Darker Dawn

Written, produced, directed and edited by Jason Figgis
October Eleven Pictures / Pop Twist Entertainment / A Man in Green Tub Productions
106 minutes, 2012 / 2013
www.mvdvisuals.com

In our mediated culture, we have bared lots of cinematic diseases that cause the apocalypse of modern civilization, but most of them tend to be followed by zombies. For this film, it’s a different, possibly more realistic, and dreadfully dower future.

Set in Ireland, a new viral plague has hit the world where adults are susceptible. They start by becoming irrational and psychotic, or sometimes it’s like a form of violent Alzheimer’s. Soon, organs shut down, and they die. The children are left over to fend for themselves in this new humanity.

Fran (Emily Forster) and Evie (Catherine Wrigglesworth)

The main focus of the story, taking place nine months later, is two siblings, and their journey. There’s the older sister, Evie (Catherine Wrigglesworth), who is in her mid-late teens, and her younger ‘tween sister, Fran (Emily Forster). After the death of their parents, they take off on foot, keeping themselves company and reading from The Railway Children to try to obtain some semblance of home / normality, such as it is.

Before long, they run into a bunch of other teens, who do not treat them well; the viewer also gets to know them as well. One of the more interesting aspects of the film is the flashbacks of many of the major characters and the moments of their parents’ decay to keep us up on their motivations in the present.

It’s a very smart story, reminding me of a similar themed, bleak book I had finished reading recently(without implying they copy each other, because they don’t) called PostApoc, by Canadian Liz Worth. The reason I bring it up is because I believe that the topic is triggered by two factors: one is the absolute insane rise to power of genetic mutations with companies like Monsanto messing around with genes of plants and arguably animals, and also said zombie apocalypse movies and television shows that may make one think about “what would happen in the real world if…”

This film never shies away from the experience, nor takes the easy road from beginning to end, showing a new world order in a similar way that the British film Threads did in 1984 (ahead of its time, for sure), in the latter case being the struggle in post-nuclear Sheffield. If you’re looking for humor, you’ve come in the wrong direction.

For this film, there are hierarchies and cliques of teens that would make Mean Girls (2004) look like a support group, and even a collective of cannibal kids trying to survive, posing both the philosophical and pragmatic question of what does one do for food after all the packaged and canned foodstuff is gone in a post-farm-knowledgeable society?

Beautifully shot, mostly in what appears to be abandoned homes, the color saturation is drained, giving it a gray tone, and the flashbacks are even barer, with a sepia hue that keeps just a bit of color left.

The acting is all top notch, especially Forster as the volatile Fran. She’s had just enough of the quibbling, struggling and unnecessary pissing contests. She just wants to go back to the way things were, while riddled with nightmares about her parents. But part of her anger is knowing that is not possible.

Is this film right for you? Well, it does have its problems and questions, as well. For example, what I kept wondering through the whole film is: a lot of these characters appear to be in their late teens, or possibly early 20s. Does that mean the plague has passed, or at some point will all these people die when they reach a certain, unspecified age? It’s not explained, but I’m guessing that is in part because none of the characters know.

The problem for me is that there is just too much damn repetitive talking that doesn’t progress the story, which takes the power out of the events. If the dialog was tightened up, this could have been a good 80 minute film, but they just keep on. For example, when the sisters walk into the headquarters of the mean teen group, the conversation that goes around carries on much longer than necessary.

The two extras are the trailer and a short about the making of the music video connected to the film which leads to said video. By the way, here’s a little secret you may not realize: if there is no dialog in a trailer, odds are they’re trying to hide that it’s not in American English; it’s a trick going back to the 1960s, at least. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, it’s just a thing. Oh, and the company that made this is October Eleven Pictures, which is the date when Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army killed 3,500 in the Irish town of Wexford in 1649.

This is a powerful film, and it the lack of having a direction in which to live by for the characters actually feels accurate in the situation. It’s definitely a view of a darker dawn, and if you’re up for that, this could be your – er – meat.