Director: Alice Maio Mackay
Year: 2025
Country: Australia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After a woman is injured in an accident at home, she is forced to make friends with a like-minded girl from town, who introduces her to a supernatural power they share, eventually bringing them together when a demonic entity possesses a friend of theirs and goes on a rampage.
Review:
Overall, this was a fairly enjoyable genre effort. Among the better aspects here are the wholly effective and engaging setup, which makes the situation feel more real and grounded than it should. With the whole first half exploring her arrival in town, hanging out with her sister, and hooking up with others around town in between trying to work, there's a great starting point to recognize the situation she's falling into, so that the relationship she develops with the other girl feels real and natural. When they both realize that they've got the same supernatural abilities and get closer together because of that, there's a great connection to each other that develops physically as well as supernaturally, as the final exploits together turn into a teacher/mentor relationship as easily as romantic with how her friend teaches her to harness her abilities.
Also, the film builds up the sense of danger as the figure gets possessed and begins his rampage against them. The constant seducing and screwing others around them, which gives the hint that there's some supernatural figure on the loose after them, gives this a strong start, with the scenes playing with the victim unaware of what's going on until it's too late, while she and her friend are physically linked to him, so they know everything. That allows for the fun confrontations that take place within the community, as the trippy, atmospheric visuals and general uncertainty of the situation make for a great time, as it all leads into a stellar final confrontation where the two of them are forced to come together using their powers as best they can to finally undo the possession and stop him once and for all. These end up making for a lot to like.
There are some issues present that hold it back only slightly. The main drawback to this one concerns the series of exploits involving the relationship at the start, making it difficult to make sense of the demonic entity at the center of everything. There's little about who it is or what it's doing to the afflicted, as it never makes any real sense how it occurred, what's going on, or how it all works with the operation, making for a confusing time where it's hard to make sense of who this demonic figure is and what it's trying to do. There should've been more time in the first half setting up these factors, rather than the background information on her and her friends that this uses, and, alongside the somewhat obvious low-budget limitations on display here, with the few gore effects being obvious about their source, these are the few factors that hold this down.
Overview: ****/5
An immensely effective and likable genre effort, there’s a lot to like here that manages to keep this one going along against the few issues present that hold it down. Those with an interest in this style of genre fare, who are curious about it, or who are fans of the creative crew, will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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