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Surgeons of Horror

~ Dissecting horror films

Surgeons of Horror

Tag Archives: occult horror

Mind Over Murder: Revisiting Psychic Killer and the Occult Obsessions of 1970s Horror

07 Friday Nov 2025

Posted by surgeons of horror in retrospective

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1970s horror, jim hutton, julie adams, mardi rustam, occult, occult horror, parapsychology, paul burke, ray danton, the killer inside

The mid-1970s were a time when horror cinema flirted with the unseen — the intangible spaces between science and spirituality, psychology and the paranormal. Ray Danton’s Psychic Killer (1975) is a fascinating, if uneven, artifact of that cultural moment, where the anxieties of post-Vietnam disillusionment met the popular fascination with the occult, parapsychology, and the power of the mind untethered from the body.

Based on the novel The Killer Inside by Mardi Rustam, the film follows Arnold Masters (Jim Hutton), a wrongfully institutionalised man who learns the ancient art of astral projection and proceeds to exact vengeance on those responsible for his suffering. It’s a premise steeped in the decade’s obsession with transcendental revenge — an idea that pain, repression, and injustice could manifest as supernatural liberation.

Danton, better known for his acting than his directing, crafts a film that hovers between drive-in pulp and metaphysical inquiry. The astral projection sequences, with their spectral double imagery and off-kilter editing, gesture toward something headier than the average exploitation film, though the execution never quite escapes its grindhouse trappings. Still, Psychic Killer taps into that 1970s preoccupation with unseen forces — from Carrie to The Exorcist to The Fury — suggesting that the mind itself was the new frontier of horror.

Hutton’s performance adds unexpected melancholy, his vengeance driven less by malice than by a desperate desire for release — from guilt, trauma, and the body itself. Julie Adams and Paul Burke provide sturdy genre support, though the film’s episodic structure and inconsistent tone often dilute the tension.

Yet for all its flaws, Psychic Killer endures as a strangely poignant entry in the occult horror canon. Its blend of parapsychology, revenge thriller, and low-budget surrealism makes it a spiritual cousin to Patrick (1978) and The Medusa Touch (1978), exploring how psychic phenomena became a metaphor for repressed rage and moral imbalance.

Half a century on, Psychic Killer stands as both a relic and a reflection — a film that captured the 1970s hunger to look beyond the flesh, even if what it found there was merely the echo of human cruelty.

The Prognosis:

A curious, hypnotic slice of 1970s occult cinema — not wholly successful, but undeniably of its time and temperament.

  • Saul Muerte

“Race with the Devil: Satan in the Rearview – 50 Years of Paranoia on the Open Road”

26 Thursday Jun 2025

Posted by surgeons of horror in retrospective

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Tags

jack starrett, lara parker, loretta swit, occult, occult horror, peter fonda, warren oates

Somewhere between the last gasps of the hippy hangover and the creeping dread of post-Manson America, Race with the Devil barreled down the highway like a bat out of Hell—literally. Released in 1975 and directed by action-hardened journeyman Jack Starrett, this cult classic is a dusty, occult-tinged road thriller that taps directly into the national paranoia of the time. Fifty years later, it still hits a nerve—especially if, like me, your first encounter was via a late-night television broadcast that left you afraid to look out the caravan window.

The plot is lean and mean: two Texas couples—Peter Fonda and Lara Parker, Warren Oates and Loretta Swit—head out on an RV road trip to Colorado for a little dirt biking and rest. But their trip takes a brutal detour when they stumble across a midnight satanic ritual in the desert, and worse still, witness a human sacrifice. They flee the scene, but the cultists see them… and the chase begins.

What follows is part road movie, part conspiracy thriller, and all-out occult nightmare. The group is pursued across the dusty American Southwest by seemingly every local in sight—mechanics, police officers, townsfolk—all of whom might be in league with the Devil. Paranoia builds with every mile, the sense of isolation increasing even within the relative safety of the RV. There’s no sanctuary here—only dust, devilry, and dread.

It’s the Satanic Panic subtext that gives Race with the Devil its bite. Released at a time when America was nervously scanning the horizon for devil worshippers, ritual killers, and cultural decay, the film exploits that fear with precision. Unlike other occult-themed films of the era—The Omen, The Devil’s Rain, or The Mephisto Waltz—this one never lets the supernatural overshadow the real terror: people. Regular folks, hidden in plain sight, quietly devoted to something unholy.

Fonda and Oates make for a superb, contrasting duo—Fonda the laconic cool, Oates the ever-suspicious skeptic. There’s an unspoken weight in their friendship, an almost unshakable faith in their ability to muscle through the ordeal—until that faith is tested, and shattered. Loretta Swit, now best remembered for MASH*, adds a sharp emotional core to the film, holding her own in the growing panic. All four leads ground the madness in a relatable domesticity, which only makes the horror feel closer to home.

Then there’s that ending. Still bleak. Still brutal. Still brilliant. It’s a masterstroke in nihilism, the kind of finish that leaves you staring at a black screen, wondering how far evil will go to win. It was a punch to the gut as a kid, watching through half-lidded eyes during a late-night broadcast, and it hasn’t lost its sting.

Visually, the film captures the sun-baked emptiness of the landscape—open highways and desolate motels that conceal threats behind every shadow. Starrett directs with a muscular, no-nonsense style that keeps the tension simmering, while the sound design and jarring music cues keep your nerves frayed.

The Prognosis:

Race with the Devil may not be the most stylish film of its era, nor the most overtly supernatural, but its blend of Americana, paranoia, and occult horror earns it a lasting place in the canon of 1970s genre cinema. Fifty years on, it remains a taut, unsettling ride—a reminder that out on the open road, it’s not just flat tires or bad weather you need to worry about… sometimes it’s Satan himself.

  • Saul Muerte

The Devil’s Rain (1975): Satanic Meltdowns and Star Power in a Slippery Cult Classic

19 Thursday Jun 2025

Posted by surgeons of horror in retrospective

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devil, ernest borgnine, ida lupino, john travolta, kennan wynn, occult, occult horror, robert fuest, tom skerritt, william shatner

When It Rains, It Melts: Revisiting The Devil’s Rain at 50

Half a century on, The Devil’s Rain remains one of the strangest artifacts of the 1970s occult horror boom—an overheated stew of devil worship, grotesque visuals, and unexpected A-list casting that somehow managed to attract both Hollywood veterans and rising stars into its dripping, gooey vortex.

Directed by Robert Fuest—best known for the eccentric Dr. Phibes films—The Devil’s Rain is deeply entrenched in the cultural anxieties and supernatural fascinations of its time. The film plays like a fever dream born of late-night TV evangelist warnings and paperback Satanic panic, spinning a tale of black masses, soul-selling contracts, and a cursed family line haunted by a vengeful cult leader.

That cult leader, Jonathan Corbis, is played with devilish relish by Ernest Borgnine, who flips his usual affable persona on its head. Decked out in robes and goat-like makeup by the climax, Borgnine is clearly having the time of his life. He’s surrounded by a wildly eclectic cast: William Shatner as the tormented hero, Ida Lupino as his doomed mother, Tom Skerritt as his psychic brother, and Keenan Wynn as a blustery local sheriff. Oh—and there’s a young, largely silent John Travolta in his first film role, just months before Welcome Back, Kotter launched him into stardom.

But for all its firepower in front of the camera, the film never quite coalesces into a satisfying whole. The plot is thin, stretched across loosely connected sequences of ritualistic mumbo jumbo and endless scenes of people melting into waxy goo beneath acid rain—an effect that, while memorable, wears thin. The much-hyped “incredible ending” involves an extended final act of meltdowns, betrayals, and demonic possession that’s more exhausting than exhilarating.

Still, there’s a goofy charm to the way The Devil’s Rain leans hard into its Satanic aesthetic. This was the era of The Exorcist, Race with the Devil, and The Omen—and The Devil’s Rain rides that same wave of occult obsession, just with less discipline and a lot more slime. The involvement of real-life Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey (credited as technical advisor and appearing onscreen) only adds to the gonzo credentials, even if the end result feels more theatrical than terrifying.

The Prognosis:

As a piece of horror history, The Devil’s Rain deserves a glance—not for its scares, but for its sheer audacity. It’s a wild blend of old Hollywood gravitas, ‘70s devil craze, and low-budget exploitation, all filtered through Fuest’s offbeat lens. Fifty years later, it’s more fun as a conversation piece than a horror classic, but there’s no denying: few films have ever gone down in flames quite like this.

  • Retrospective Review by Saul Muerte

The Devil Rides Out: Hammer’s Chilling Dance with the Occult

08 Saturday Feb 2025

Posted by surgeons of horror in retrospective

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Tags

charles gray, christopher lee, dennis wheatley, hammer films, Hammer Horror, James bernard, leon greene, nike arrighi, occult, occult horror, patrick mower, paul eddington, richard matheson, sarah lawson, terence fisher, the devil rides out

The Power of Good Against the Forces of Evil

When Hammer Films turned their attention to Dennis Wheatley’s supernatural thrillers, few could have anticipated the enduring legacy of The Devil Rides Out (1968). Directed by the prolific Terence Fisher, it stands as a masterclass in atmosphere, storytelling, and occult intrigue, all while showcasing Christopher Lee in one of his finest and most distinctive performances.

At the suggestion of Christopher Lee, Hammer secured the rights to three of Wheatley’s novels: The Devil Rides Out, The Satanist, and To the Devil a Daughter. Wheatley’s works, steeped in the dark arts and tales of moral confrontation, presented the studio with fertile ground for their horror sensibilities. Lee, a longtime admirer of Wheatley’s writing, saw The Devil Rides Out as an opportunity to expand his range. Cast against type, he portrayed the heroic Duc de Richleau, an intellectual and commanding figure who battles Satanic forces with poise and conviction.

Hammer entrusted screenwriting duties to Richard Matheson, celebrated for his work on The Twilight Zone and various genre-defining projects. Matheson brought a deft touch to the script, balancing faithfulness to the source material with a streamlined cinematic narrative. His adaptation maintained the novel’s core themes while amplifying the visual potential of its occult sequences.

The Devil Rides Out marked the final collaboration between Terence Fisher and Christopher Lee. The legendary duo had worked together on a string of iconic Hammer films, including The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula. Fisher’s steady hand brought gravitas and tension to the film, crafting a foreboding atmosphere that elevated its more fantastical elements.

Christopher Lee, stepping away from his usual roles as villains or monsters, relished the chance to play the righteous Duc de Richleau. His commanding performance is a standout, projecting authority and intelligence while conveying the stakes of the battle against evil. Lee’s passion for the project shines through, and it’s evident that this role was deeply personal to him.

The supporting cast bolsters the film’s gravitas. Charles Gray’s turn as the malevolent Mocata is mesmerising, blending charm and menace in equal measure. Mocata’s scenes of hypnotic manipulation and occult rituals rank among the film’s most chilling moments. Nike Arrighi delivers a quietly effective performance as the vulnerable Tanith, while Leon Greene, Patrick Mower, Sarah Lawson, and Paul Eddington round out a solid ensemble.

What truly sets The Devil Rides Out apart is its commitment to the supernatural. Fisher and Matheson crafted unforgettable set pieces, from the tense ritual to protect a sacred circle to the summoning of the Angel of Death. Bernard Robinson’s production design and James Bernard’s eerie sound design create an immersive world where the line between good and evil feels palpably thin.

Kudos must also go to Hammer’s visual effects team, who worked wonders within the constraints of the studio’s modest budget. Though some effects now feel dated, their inventiveness and ambition remain admirable. The film’s climactic moments still resonate, particularly the shocking confrontation with demonic forces.

Critically, The Devil Rides Out has been lauded as one of Hammer’s crowning achievements. Fans and scholars alike praise it as a rare foray into the supernatural that combines intellectual weight with Gothic spectacle. However, its commercial performance, particularly in the United States, fell short of expectations. Hammer’s distinct brand of horror faced stiff competition in a market shifting toward grittier, more visceral fare.

Despite this, the film’s reputation has only grown over the decades. Its themes of morality, faith, and resistance against darkness remain timeless. And for Christopher Lee, it was a career highlight that showcased his depth as an actor beyond the iconic monsters he so often portrayed.

The Devil Rides Out is a haunting, sophisticated entry in Hammer’s catalog, blending Wheatley’s literary prowess, Matheson’s screenwriting expertise, and Fisher’s directorial vision. It’s a testament to the power of storytelling and the enduring appeal of Gothic horror.

For fans of Hammer Films or anyone fascinated by the battle between light and darkness, The Devil Rides Out is a must-watch.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie Review: Late Night With The Devil (2024)

18 Thursday Apr 2024

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Aussie horror, australian film, Australian Horror, australian movie, cameron cairnes, colin cairnes, david dastmalchian, devil, fayssal bazzi, horror, ian bliss, ingrid torelli, late night with the devil, laura gordon, maslow entertainment, occult, occult horror, review, reviews, umbrella entertainment

Australian sibling directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes have been meticulously crafting a distinctive voice from behind the lens and with their third outing, Late Night With The Devil they have tapped into the horror zeitgeist on a global scale. Their first feature, 100 Bloody Acres was a more straight up narrative, leaning heavily into macabre humour starring Angus Sampson and Damon Herriman as struggling brothers in the meat industry who add a secret ingredient into the mix with over-the-top comical results.

Upon closer scrutiny though, it would be their second feature, Scare Campaign that is more closely aligned with the direction that LNWTD would take, with a TV show venturing into the occult investigation that goes horribly wrong. Although it missed the mark to a degree in its execution, the Cairnes brothers have learnt from this previous outing and produced a creative and decisive tale with Late Night With The Devil. 

The premise pits David Dastmalchian in his first leading role, as late night talk show Night Owls host Jack Delroy. Delroy embarks on a last ditch attempt to pull back the ratings through a marketing stunt set on Halloween 1977, and books a psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), a sceptic, and a parapsychologist (Laura Gordon) who claims that her surrogate daughter Lily is possessed by the devil. 

The look and feel of this feature is so sweetly on par, it is easy to drift into the era that it is set and be lured in by the spectacle; one of the many tricks that the Cairnes team perform well. The decade of choice is no mere accident either with America rife with violence and horror that has put society on the brink of sanity, exposed to the likes Son of Sam, David Berkowitz and Charles Manson, and with the breakdown of freedom, comes the exposure to occults and satanism, leaving everyone questioning to what end can humanity be exposed to? It is this playground that the directors’ choose to play in and through the medium of television, force this evil into the homes of every suburban household.

The Cairnes also have perfected their craft in storytelling, by slowly eeking out the threat of danger in their chosen format of late night television; each guest that is introduced is a snag on the tooth of the viewer, to pull them deeper into the world they have created, until the final act is revealed with the not so sweet Lily (Ingrid Torelli). The role of the critic, Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss) is a smart storytelling device too by constantly asking the questions that audiences will naturally come up with. How much of this is real? How much is performance? And how deeply can we keep probing for the truth before we get our cat-like curiosity scorched?

The breadcrumbs that are left along the way, adds to the weight of the journey, and the torment that is exposed by the film’s conclusion. The performances are solid and none more so than Dastmalchian, who’s character Jack is the character truly under scrutiny. How much has he had to sacrifice in order to keep up with the likes of fellow late night presenter Johnny Carson? Is there more to the history behind his wife’s mysterious and fatal illness? These questions can only be dealt with through the meticulous direction and the strength in Dastmalchian’s performance; oozing charm one minute before serving a backhand of depravity the next. We’re guided on a trail of human decline where the end is nowhere to be seen with ruin at every turn.

The Prognosis:

The American Dream is served up on a plate here and scorched beyond recognition. The Cairnes Brothers capitalise on their previous efforts to expose the frailty and deprivation through a stylised lens that is fresh, inviting and delightfully disturbing. 

This is an example of an idea executed so adeptly that every creative player involved brings their A-game to the fold and delivers.

While there are some subtle flaws, the fact that they hold fast to the look, feel and strong performances, allows them to flourish and produce a solid, entertaining feature.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Matriarch (2022)

22 Saturday Oct 2022

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review

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disney plus, folklore, jemima rooper, kate dickie, matriarch, occult, occult horror

Firstly Jemima Rooper deserves more recognition for her on screen performances and hopefully her upcoming role as Olivia Winfiled Foxworth in the series Flowers In The Attic: The Origin will lift her to loftier heights. Here she is ably supported by Kate Dickie (Game of Thrones, Raven’s Hollow) in a mother/daughter relationship that has turned sour across time. When these two actors combine, there is potential for strong calibre in the characters they portray.

It’s clear that Laura (Rooper) has unravelled beyond any hope of piecing things back together. Surviving on self-medication, be it alcohol or cocaine she tries to conceal the trauma band aid beneath her business-like veneer. Laura tries to connect with the outside world through a feeble attempt at a relationship but her advances are rejected as the mask slips away, revealing a darkness below. As she spirals out, Laura has an overdose but a mysterious black goo brings her back to life but for what purpose?

When she comes too, Laura believes gets a call from her estranged mother Celia (Dickie) and is compelled to return home. What she finds upon her return is something deeply entrenched in her small childhood town that oozes from British folklore and sinister occult practices.

The Prognosis:

Ben Steiner (director) tackles a paganistic tale about childhood trauma through an occult lens. 

There is plenty in the mix here from a vindictive, overbearing and narcissistic mother; an old flame; and the struggles of religion against pagan beliefs to tempt or sway the soul.

Whilst the story itself doesn’t offer anything new, both Rooper and Dickie bring weight to their roles, grounding the small town folk phenomena.

It is through their characters that the audience is pulled into the quagmire of tragic upheaval, where the mental scars run deeper than humankind can contain.

  • Saul Muerte

Matriarch is currently streaming on Disney Plus.

Movie review: The Long Night (2022)

13 Saturday Aug 2022

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review

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cult, deborah kara unger, Eagle Entertainment Australia, jeff fahey, nolan gerard funk, occult, occult horror, scout taylor-compton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjnlFjoQ6kM

Fear the darkness inside you.

This is the bold tagline that director Rich Ragsdale and his creative team wish to instil fear into their audience with for his feature debut behind the lens. 

In order to evoke any sense of trepidation however, you must first look at two essential ingredients; chemistry and atmosphere. Both of which are sadly lacking here. 

It takes a full 30 minutes of wading through our two leads Grace (Scout Taylor-Compton – Halloween) and her boyfriend Jack (Nolan Gerard Funk – Truth or Dare) struggling to connect on screen. 

Grace is driven by the quest to find the parents she has never known. Following an ominous lead, the couple end up at a remote house surrounded by curious totems, shrugged off as a Southern thing and there’s no sign of their host. 

It’s not until Jeff Fahey’s cameo however as local Wayne, that things heat up and some gravitas is brought to the screen. It’s brief but enough to shake Taylor-Compton’s performance a little and give her more substance to the character. 

It is not quite enough though to ground this movie and propel the action forward despite the sinister looking satanic cult that have encompassed the property. These figures seemingly rely on their menacing presence and the odd mysticism to generate apprehension, but beneath their outer shell is a vacant entity; a symbol of the film as a whole.

Having said that, the movie does boast some nice imagery in places, a signature of Ragsdale’s eye for detail from his days as a cinematographer. It also has a worthy snippet from Deborah Kara Unger, who is always a welcome addition.

The Prognosis:

The Long Night offers a painfully slow descent into a nightmare that struggles to find its roots in terror.
There are moments of promise but all of this is squandered by lack of substance or flair.

  • Saul Muerte

The Long Night is currently available on DVD and VOD (iTunes, Google Play, YouTube Store, and Fetch TV) and released by Eagle Entertainment Australia.

Movie review: Sator (2019)

23 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review

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aurora lowe, gabriel nicholson, jordan graham, june peterson, michael daniel, occult, occult horror, rachel johnson, supernatural

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiEzvRpbvTo

It’s clear to say that Sator was a labour of love for director Jordan Graham who would take six years to complete.
Apparently, this was due to budgetary limitations, and when you are the writer, director, and producer of your sophomore outing in the field, this is completely understanding. Being a lover of the craft, especially one where the vision is clear and the passion evident, I can only applaud Graham’s efforts.

The slow-paced, stylized depiction of Graham’s vision however will not suit everyone’s tastes, and perhaps consider it too “artsy”, especially for mainstream horror lovers.

Shot entirely in black and white, Sator emphasises both fields of being a low-budget film, but looking smart because of the association to ‘highbrow’ entertainment.

Essentially this film is a supernatural occult horror that uses the subject of a broken family as its heart, slowly being ripped apart by Sator, an entity that eats away at each of their souls before it can claim them.

With any known demonic force, it will find the weakest chain and begin to wear it down until it breaks loose and exposes the frailty of us all.

It may be laboriously slow in the manner of its delivery, but Graham’s depiction is masterful in places and the essence of it is incredibly strong and harrowing.

The choice of setting also cements this further as the family are based in a desolate forest, isolated from the real world with only each other to depend upon, but combined with this separated from reality.
.

The Prognosis:

It’s said that isolation can lead to depression and dissolution will set in with doubts and self-loathing, all fodder for demonism to take hold and seep its way into the humanity mainstream, fracturing any hope of surviving.

Here Jordan Graham crafts a deeply dark and disturbing tale, which will resonate for some, or find the stylisations too much to bear and ultimately turn them off.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Wretched

18 Monday May 2020

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review, umbrella entertainment

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Tags

occult, occult horror, umbrella entertainment, witchcraft

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5r23YkApfQ

I gotta say that before I begin to cast my thoughts on the film, I am definitely not of the right demographic age-wise. The film is aimed primarily towards Gen Z and with that zest for life comes the rekindled imaginations of yester-year. 

Much like Disturbia did for the Millenials, The Burbs for the X Generation, and Rear Window did for the Baby Boomer generation, we have a protagonist predominantly placed in his home where he witnesses foul play going on next door. In this instance, we follow Ben, “a defiant teenage boy” who has been sent to stay with his father during the summer. His parents are currently going through a divorce which lends some weight as to why Ben has started to go off the rails. During his stay, Ben slowly discovers that all is not as it seems in this marina town, and not only that but appears to be possessed by some weird demonic witch like creature from the woods that we later learn to discover is a cross between Black Annis and the Boo Hag.

There are some genuinely decent moments in here for the hardened soul and the creature fx are believable enough to blend into the landscape, but the fear itself is often all too “twee” and never stirs the heart.

Despite this, the performances and characters are engaging enough for you to care about Ben’s plight with some decent twists in the mix, that on face value surprise and delight, but on closer inspection, doesn’t necessarily add up. Sometimes the MacGuffin is enough to change or suspend disbelief that you forgive its faults, but here they jar and the smoke and mirrors are left in plain sight, shattering any vague illusion that the director was hoping to achieve.

The Prognosis

Another sugar coated saccharine sweet horror film that lives in the shadows of exceptional movies without offering an ounce of originality.

If you like fluffy, light hearted horror, then by all means give this a whirl, but from this writer’s perspective, The Wretched struggles to lift itself above a mediocre horror… just.

  • Saul Muerte

Wretched is screening now until 18 July in Foxtel Store 

In selected Cinemas 25 June onwards – Cinema List below 

VICTORIA & TASMANIA
June 25 Nova Carlton, VIC
June 25 Wallis Mildura, VIC
June 25 Peninsula Cinemas Rosebud, VIC
June 25 Horsham Centre Cinema, VIC
June 25 Ararat Cinema, VIC
June 25 Metro Cinemas Bernie, TAS

NEW SOUTH WALES
July 2 Griffith Cinemas
July 2 Bathurst Metro Cinemas
July 2 Metro Cinemas Lake Haven
July 9 Laurieton Plaza Cinemas
July 9 Saraton Theatre Grafton

QUEENSLAND & NORTHERN TERRITORY
June 25 Alice Springs Cinema, NT
June 25 Cineplex Hawthorne, QLD
June 25 Cineplex Redbank, QLD
June 25 Cineplex South Bank, QLD
June 25 Cineplex Victoria Point, QLD
July 16, Malanda Cinemas, QLD

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
June 25 Wallis Mitchem, SA
June 25 Wallis Mt Barker, SA
June 25 Wallis Noarlunga, SA
June 25 Wallis Piccadilly, SA
June 25 Esperance Cinema, WA

Available to rent On Demand from 2 September 
via Google Play, Fetch TV, Microsoft &  Apple TV 

Movie review: Pyewacket

10 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

adam macdonald, laurie holden, nicole munoz, occult horror

For a while there, it felt like you couldn’t watch a horror flick without stumbling across a shuffling animated corpse or a creature of the night as everything from vampires and zombies was thrust at us. And while there has been a significant shift in the genre with films like Get Out, Raw, Don’t Breathe, and the recent A Quiet Place have proven to offer new light in the dark world we love so much, there has also been a growing development in stories around the Occult.

Stemming from The Witch and Netflix’s The Ritual, folk horror is definitely on the rise and with the impact that Hereditary has had on the cinema audience, you can sure as hell expect that this will spell the beginning of delving into the dark arts in film once again.

Which is why I felt it a good time to resurrect a discussion around a movie that was doing the rounds at festival circuits last year called Pyewacket.
This sophomore outing from director Adam MacDonald following his debut feature Backcountry, stars Laurie Holden (The Walking Dead, The Americans) and Nicole Muñoz who play out a fractured mother/daughter relationship.

Holden strikes a formidable force on-screen as the over-bearing mother, who is barely keeping it together following the death of her husband and trying to support her only daughter, Leah.
Whilst she is pained by how much Leah looks like her husband, the manner in which she expresses this to her daughter is beyond cruel and makes it hard to warm to her.
And yet Holden can flip the switch and show compassion and caring that makes you question how you could have felt so ill towards her. It’s a terrific performance and amplifies how much she should be in more movies.

Muñoz more than holds her own against Holden as she is forced to move away from all that she knows, in a wooded terrain in the back of beyond.
When her mother poses the notion of moving schools, thus segregating her further from all that she knows, Leah delves into her passion for the occult as a way to self-regulate her emotions in all the wrong ways.
We empathise with her plight despite her drastic methods to evoke a witch in order to kill her mother in a fit of rage, anger and turmoil.
Once the wheels are in motion and the spirit is on its destructive path, the tension mounts as Leah struggles to take back her actions and stop the creature at all costs.

The Diagnosis:
This movie deserves more recognition than it has received thus far. Not only does it tackle what could easily be remised for teenage angst, Pyewacket offers powerful performances in a slow-burn drama that s believable and tension-packed to its conclusion.

  • Saul Muerte

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