Pyewacket, 2017.
Directed by Adam MacDonald.
Starring Nicole Muñoz, Laurie Holden, Chloe Rose, Eric Osborne, James McGowan, Bianca Melchior, and Neil Whitely.
SYNOPSIS:
A teenage girl summons a witch to kill her unstable mother after the death of her father.
The proverb that begins ‘Be careful what you wish for…’ has been the basis for many a horror movie over the years and because of this Pyewacket, the second directorial feature from actor-turned-director/writer Adam MacDonald, treads some familiar ground as it sets up its terrors but, to use another overused phrase, the devil is in the detail.
Angst-ridden teenager Leah (Nicole Muñoz – The Last Mimzy) is having a tough time growing up as she has recently lost her father and her mother (Laurie Holden – The Walking Dead) seems to be spiralling out of control, drinking heavily and generally being all over the place mentally. Finding comfort in the occult and listening to black metal with her close circle of friends, Leah’s problems worsen when her mother decides to sell the family home and move north to an isolated house in the woods, away from her friends and her only source of comfort. After one heated argument too many Leah takes a walk into the woods and, in her anger, recites the ritual to invoke a witch named Pyewacket to kill her mother but upon returning to the house Leah’s mother apologises and seems sincere in wanting to make up, which is fine until Leah starts to hear footsteps in the house and realises that it isn’t so easy to put the genie back in the bottle, so to speak.
Yes, there are dozens of well-worn phrases and clichés you could use to describe Pyewacket and when stripped back to its core it is a story that has been told and retold over and over but it is the sense of inevitability that drives the story and keeps you invested, especially during the first hour where not a lot really happens in terms of horror or scares but sets up the characters of Leah and her mother and their relationship so by the time Pyewacket the witch appears there is an emotional payoff. Credit to Adam MacDonald for the way he builds up to the reveal of Pyewacket by using sounds and shadows to give the audience enough to know that the proverbial is about to hit the fan but we know more than Leah as she hears the footsteps at night but doesn’t see the shadowy figure lurking in the dark corners of her room; even her friend who comes to stay the night sees more than Leah does but, in a deliberate move, the conclusion to her story is never fully revealed.
Nicole Muñoz and Laurie Holden act their hearts out as the warring mother and daughter who really just want each other to be less selfish and share their grief over their lost loved one. By the time the film reaches its final act and things take a turn as Leah cannot be sure if the woman calling her back to the house is really her mother, both actresses sell the terror and heartache the story requires to the point where you’re not quite sure how you’re supposed to feel about each of the characters and their actions. Add all that to the creeping dread that Adam MacDonald has weaved throughout and some intense imagery that draws heavily from Ringu and Fede Álvarez’s Evil Dead (with a few Sam Raimi-esque camera movements thrown in for good measure) and Pyewacket stands out as a modern teenage-based horror movie that doesn’t rely on empty jump scares or graphic violence to creep you out. The downside to all of the build-up and the final revelations is that the film ends quite suddenly, not really having anywhere else to go but also not giving you enough of a chance to take in or make sense of what has actually just happened, offering little closure for the audience or whomever may be left on the screen at the end. Nevertheless, Pyewacket is a horror movie and when it reaches its eventual destination storywise it does indeed horrify so as far as Adam MacDonald is concerned it is job done and if Pyewacket is anything to go by then his next directorial project will be worth keeping an eye out for.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★★★ / Movie: ★★★★
Chris Ward
