Director Natalie Erika James’ first feature-length film is the most terrifying, and surprisingly moving, film you’ll see this year.
Emily Mortimer plays Kay, who drives from Melbourne with her older daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) because a neighbor reports to the police that Kay’s elderly mother Edna (Robyn Nevin) hasn’t been seen in some time. They arrive at the house and Edna is nowhere to be found, which precipitates a police search in the nearby woods. But one morning Edna is suddenly there in the kitchen, making tea and seeming no worse for wear, except for a disturbing bruise on her chest. Kay realizes she has to make some sort of decision about how to deal with her mom. She even considers putting her in a facility in Melbourne, but granddaughter Sam suggests she could move in with Edna.
But there are all these strange sounds coming from the house at night, and elongated mold stains coming down from the ceiling. Edna acts more frightened as the days go by and is caught talking to herself, and fearfully asking Kay to check under her bed at night, saying “he’s here!” Then there are all the puzzling new locks on the doors. Is this the creeping dementia, or is there something more sinister going on? Trust me, the film builds with such mounting unease thanks to the shadowy, evocative cinematography by Charlie Sarroff, the amazing production design of Steven Jones-Evans and the harrowing sound design by Rob MacKenzie.
One can see the references, from Italian psychological gothic thrillers, to the Japanese Ju-On (The Grudge) movies. But what James has done so uniquely well is to also tap in on the complex dynamics of mothers and daughters. And the guilt that accompanies watching a parent slowly losing their faculties and become something “different.” Also, the frustrating and horrifying inability to do anything about it. The overwhelming helplessness, which brings on an avalanche of unresolved family issues becomes a waking nightmare. That, and the creepy Alice in Wonderland shift during the last third of the film all help create a daringly original, scary and deeply unsettling movie.