Frewaka Film Review

 

Frewaka Film Review

Halfway to Halloween Presented by Shudder

Sadly, Halfway to Halloween is coming to a close.

But, that just means we’re one month closer to Halloween!

Shudder’s line-up included 825 FOREST ROAD, SHADOW OF GOD and DEAD MAIL.

This final week brings you Irish folk horror, FREWAKA.

From Aislinn Clarke (The Devil’s Doorway), FREWAKA, a largely Irish-language film, follows home care worker Shoo, who is sent to a remote village to care for an agoraphobic woman who fears the neighbors as much as she fears the Na Sídhe — sinister entities who she believes abducted her decades before.

As the two develop a strangely deep connection, Shoo is consumed by the old woman’s paranoia, rituals, and superstitions, eventually confronting the horrors from her own past.

FREWAKA is a large metaphor for inter-generational trauma, specifically with women, and Catholic guilt.

Frewaka, a word taken from the longer Irish word “fréamhacha,” translates to “roots” which in this film includes Ireland's collective historical trauma around the Magdalene Laundries, inter-generational violence, birth and death.

All the above are wrapped up in Irish superstition and folklore with haunting scenes of goats, horseshoes, fairy trees and parading costumed villagers. But the religious imagery, specifically a neon cross, are more frightening than the possibility of fae looking to break into our world.

With vivid cinematography, superb acting, and eerie dissection into trauma, it’s hard to decide which factor hits home closest.

For me, it was the music and sound that lasted the longest post credits. I can still hear the neon red cross. It haunts me at night when I get up to our red nightlights. (Josh insists they have less blue light for less sleep interruption. I insist they’re creepy as hell.) I can still hear the recurring leitmotif (chattering percussion and loud droning).

FREWAKA is one of those films that purposefully gets under your skin. Grab your folk horror loving friend to watch and dissect this film together.

Dead Mail Film Review

 

Dead Mail Film Review

Halfway to Halloween Presented by Shudder

We’re halfway through our halfway to Halloween celebration with Shudder!

So far we watched and reviewed 825 FOREST ROAD and SHADOW OF GOD.

This week brings you a noir thriller, DEAD MAIL.

On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him.

The note makes its way to the desk of Jasper, a seasoned ‘dead letter’ investigator at a 1980s midwestern post office.

As he begins to piece together the letter’s origins, it leads him down a violent, unforeseen path to a kidnapped keyboard engineer and his eccentric business associate.

DEAD MAIL is a thriller told in three distinct parts using two storylines that eventually merge at the climax of the film.

The first part sets the vibe for a potential cat and mouse game thanks to the thoroughness of the dead letter office. It’s an intriguing beginning that immediately pulls you into the story and then abruptly shifts, taking you down the path of the second storyline

The second part/storyline is focused around the how and why behind the dead letter received in the first part of the film. The main antagonist is eccentric to say the least and the story gives off strong John Fowles’ THE COLLECTOR vibes. (Add to your reading list). At times, the pacing can feel a bit slow but the build up is worth it as the film moves in the third part where both storylines collide.

All around, this is a very well-done noir thriller that demands to be on a movie shelf for viewing parties. The purposeful aesthetic of the film immediately transports you back to the 80s and the characters, both minor and major, leave a lasting impression.

Make this Friday night movie night with DEAD MAIL, popcorn, and ice cream. I suggest Neapolitan. I think you’ll thank me later.

 

Shadow of God Film Review

Shadow of God Film Review

Halfway to Halloween Presented by Shudder

April showers bring May flowers – and the month of April brings us halfway to Halloween! This April, Shudder is celebrating with four new horror films debuting each week this month.

April 4 – 825 FOREST ROAD

April 11 – SHADOW OF GOD

April 18 – DEAD MAIL

April 25 – FREWAKA

I’ll be giving you the lowdown on each film before you tune in weekly.

This week we’ll taking a look at SHADOW OF GOD.

When several of his fellow Vatican exorcists are simultaneously killed, Father Mason Harper returns to his childhood home to spend time with childhood friend while he awaits orders from the Church.

However, this small town holds dark secrets about Mason's past and the religious organization once run by his father, Angus. Thought dead, Angus reappears, forcing a reunion between father and son. But Angus is different now, and before long, Mason suspects he’s possessed, not by the devil, but by something… holy.

When Mason attempts to exorcise the presence from his father, he sets off a chain of events that may end in a cataclysm of biblical proportions testing everything he holds sacred.

Take your initial thoughts about exorcism films and throw them out the window. As that’s exactly what director Michael Peterson did.

Mark O’Brien (READY OR NOT) does a fine job portraying a priest with heavy baggage. But as that baggage unfolds throughout the film, the main conflict becomes fuzzy until the climax of the film.

The climax is meant to be a big shock and twist but it felt underwhelming. It had myself asking, “Wait, is that it?”

I needed more around the consequences of the actions being taken in this film.

Peterson does provide an open-ended ending, but I didn’t feel invested enough for a continuation of the story.

Maybe my faith in religion has waned so much in today’s world that a film like this that is trying to convey a different message of faith, still didn’t quite do the job it intended – which is to question everything.

But decide for yourself if this twist of exorcism movie deserves more conversation and hit us up in the comments.