Director: John Mathis
Year: 2026
Country: Argentina
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Cult
Plot:
After learning their mother has died, sisters are reunited when they’re forced to look after the new property they’ve inherited, but the more they stay there, the more they come to realize that their mother’s interest in the supernatural has unleashed a dark force that threatens their lives.
Review:
Overall, this was a fairly solid and generally likable genre effort. Among the better features of this one is the intriguing storyline that manages to integrate some likable elements into this while also managing to give this the kind of uncomfortability that comes off really well. The initial setup of the sisters coming back together as adults following a lifetime apart when they get the news of their mother’s death and the inheritance falling onto them, giving them a chance to reconnect while staying at her house for everything to go through. This undeniable sense of awkwardness between them, with one sister a free-spirited artist with her husband and kids, and the other working dead-end customer service jobs and still struggling to make ends meet, creates a fun dynamic as they try to get closer to each other while staying in the house. These scenes are quite fun and manage to offer up the kind of intriguing storyline about their growing discovery of what their mother was really doing that makes for a solid time.
By the time this starts to bring about the revelations about the sinister goings-on in the house, and what was really going on, the influx of cult-like ambitions and supernatural ceremonies gives this an incredibly chilling time. The series of hauntings she experiences, where the antics of the mother and her connection to a strange pagan cult feature some grisly moments appearing out of nowhere, leading nicely against the finale where the series of reveals brings everything together into a fiery spectacle of arcane rituals, occult performances, and a bloodthirsty ruthlessness that gives everything the type of material that presents everything with the kind of tone that portray the full extent of what their mother was really involved with. This includes a strong series of action and stalking scenes that take place within the house and surrounding parts of the woods that brings in not just the sisters to rebuild their relationship but also various others due to the influence of the cult into the mix, with some enjoyable setpieces leading to some great gore as well, all giving this a lot to like about it.
This one does have some minor drawbacks that hold this one down. The main drawback here is a slow-going setup that takes on way too much time in the first half, so it takes a longer amount of time to get going than it should. The whole thing comes about nicely enough by showing the differences between the sisters and how they’re coming together to showcase the difference in their lives and what can be done now that they’ve come back together to fulfill the inheritance part of the situation, yet this does come off with a slightly sluggish tempo as a result. There’s a lot of their awkwardness and attempts at rebonding with each other that goes on, where it focuses on the relationship to the extent of the supernatural influences, as that doesn’t start building until the half-hour mark following up on these interactions. It’s not all that much of an issue, but it does stick out slightly throughout here, much like the quick-cut finale that seems to just be over without fully recognizing what’s going on. None of these are really that bad, though, and don’t hold this back.
Overview: ****/5
An immensely likable and fun genre effort, this one manages to get quite a lot to like that manages to hold off the few small, barely detrimental issues here that do show up. Those with an appreciation for this kind of genre fare, who are curious about it, or who don’t mind those issues will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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