Director: Mark O’Brien
Year: 2026
Country: Canada
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Following a health scare, siblings return home to deal with the aftermath of the situation and try to help heal old wounds brought about by the situation, making them turn on each other to the point of failing to notice their mother’s possession, and they must rely on their faith to save her.
Review:
Overall, this is more of an intriguing drama than an overt genre effort. When this one works the best is due to the series of deep-dives this takes on the nature of family grief, trauma, and the lingering effects of those issues on the next generations. Opening on the initial tragedy and what everything means when that causes the distant relatives to come back to tend to her failing health as a result of everything affecting her and managing to bring about the different aspects of their past interactions to the surface as a means of keeping their emotions on edge. The idea of everything that has taken place in the past coming to the forefront as a way of making the various issues each one suffers from affect how they deal with the burgeoning retaliation that something is with them in the house and bringing the ill mother’s health down the entire time gives the film a dark and immensely ominous attitude that carries the film along into those darker aspects. Given the astute technical qualities that come from these sequences and how this one is put together on that end as we get some impressive imagery to denote the possession along the way, there’s a lot to like here.
Beyond this, though, there’s not much here to remain engaging. The majority of this is presented more as a family drama about how tormented and traumatized the siblings are at what’s gone around to them in the past being what causes a series of conflicts between everyone, instead of dealing with anything else. The constant fighting, bickering, and arguing between the siblings, brought about by the influence of the demon possessing the mother, brings the pacing down so much that it often feels like the supernatural elements get pushed aside to deal with the unlikable, combative family. Far more time exploring the idea of the deceased matriarch gatekeeping the demonic being trapped in the house and how it affects the mother to break up the monotony of the film running through cliched ideas of possession and exorcism would’ve been a way ot help this one rather well, as the idea of her being possessed and requiring an exorcism from the one member of the family suffering through a crisis of faith at the time is a well-worn cliche that doesn’t make this any more interesting or original. These all bring the film down overall.
Overview: **.5/5
A more intriguing drama than overt genre effort, this one has some really likable factors which are generally fun enough for what it is, but tend to highlight its fringe genre qualities more than anything else. Those who appreciate this style or approach will have the most to enjoy with this one, while most others out there should heed caution.
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