Kate (Lora Burke) and her daughter Beth (Tessa Kozma) are in witness protection and living in an isolated farmhouse, trying to start a new life. Forced to go into hiding when Kateās husband was charged with murdering a young girl, the mother and daughter have a strained relationship. The officer assigned to keep an eye on Kate and Beth, Hal (Colin Paradine), makes a routine visit and after he leaves, the house is invaded by a couple hellbent on revenge and finding out the truth about the murder that Kateās husband committed.
āMotherlyā is directed by Craig David Wallace, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ian Malone. The film is a tight and tense home invasion thriller that packs a surprisingly layered story and plenty of surprises. When weāre first introduced to Kate, itās clear that her relationship with her daughter is hanging by a thread. No matter what Kate tries to placate Beth, she continually gets it wrong and the stroppy young girl makes it known that sheād rather live with her father.
Hal further complicates things as he (perhaps unintentionally) steps into the father role for Beth, who rejects him and isnāt happy when heās in the house. Kate on the other hand finds Hal a shoulder to lean on while she tries to move on from the murder that her family was embroiled in. There is some fantastic character work done here, with Kate and Beth feeling like fully rounded characters and the script does a very good job of really bringing home just how fragile their relationship is.
The action ramps up when two people force their way into Kateās home and separate her from Beth. Confused and scared, Kate soon discovers that the antagonists are the parents of the little girl whom her husband murdered. The only problem is, they donāt believe Kateās version of events and they are willing to go to extreme lengths to find out what really happened. At this point in the film, I began working out the way the story was going to unravel but honestly it didnāt spoil it for me at all. Even though I worked out around 75% of it, there were still moments that caught me by surprise and I was hooked from start to finish.
Something interesting to note about the cast is that Lora Burke, Nick Smyth and Colin Paradine were all in Arrow Video FrightFest 2020 hit āFor The Sake of Viciousā. They come together here in a very different way but Iām starting to think the three actors are a good indication of quality when it comes to the horror genre. While Smyth doesnāt get as much to do here, Paradine and Burke are standouts, with Burke in particular wowing with a tour-de-force performance. Sheās simply brilliant as Kate and you believe her as a woman who has been through incredible trauma.
āMotherlyā is definitely one of my surprises of Arrow Video FrightFest. While it may not be covering completely new ground, itās a fantastic film with strong direction, a compelling story and stunning lead performances. Whether you guess whatās going on or not, youāll still enjoy the film and I guarantee you that the final moments will leave you with your jaw on the floor.
Cast: Lora Burke, Tessa Kozma, Kristen MacCulloch, Nick Smyth, Colin Paradine Director: Craig David Wallace Writer: Craig David Wallace & Ian Malone Certificate: 18 Duration: 80 mins Released by: Raven Banner
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