Fréwaka

"Frewaka" immediately caught my attention because of its unusual name and interesting-looking poster. I expected something like a low-budget, Midsommar-like movie with Irish folklore sprinkled in, but unfortunately, that is not quite what I got.

We follow Shoo (Clare Monnelly), a care worker who is sent to a remote village in Ireland to look after an agoraphobic older woman. Soon, strange things begin to happen, and she finds herself the target of a sinister folkloric entity.

The movie is definitely a slow burner and really takes its time to tell the story. It is not particularly scary and relies more on atmosphere than on cheap jump scares, which is generally a positive choice. The film features some great cinematography, and the acting is solid overall, making this a technically competent production with some strengths.

Unfortunately, the overall themes have been done many times before in very similar ways. There are already a lot of movies like this, and Frewaka does little to stand out. Aside from the red door and a few costume designs, there is not much visual distinction, and the story does not offer much for the audience to connect with. It leans heavily on familiar genre tropes and stereotypical scenes, which further reduces its impact. I would have loved to see more about the Irish folklore but the movie sadly does not provide many answers or insights at all.

For fans of slow-burn horror, this folk horror film might offer some enjoyable moments. However, Frewaka ultimately lacks the originality and memorability to impress a more seasoned audience. [4.2/10]

The mood was set: dreary skies, some new black metal releases (Kommodus, Blood Abscission, Flaming Ouroboros, Blutschwur) providing the soundtrack to a gnawing craving for something dark and unsettling. Fréwaka slid right into that space like a cold blade, and yeah, it was a good call - it delivered.

Aislinn Clarke's the real deal, right? "The Devil's Doorway" was a decent found-footage attempt with its take on the Magdalen Laundries. I was hyped for "Fréwaka," and honestly, she's one-upped herself. This one hits harder than that feature film. Again, she's back with something even heavier-digging into buried history and the wounded past like it's cursed ground that still feels raw.

The two leads, Catherine Monnelly and Bríd Ní Neachtain, are quietly phenomenal, playing women tangled in their own trauma, stuck in this eerie, ancient-feeling Irish village. The film's steeped in something ancient, almost primal energy right from the start. Even the OG Irish title, Fréamhacha ("roots"), gives a nod to a story that feels like something old creeping into the present. The story mainly follows Shoo (Monnelly), a palliative nurse, who arrives to care for Peig (Ní Neachtain), who's battling agoraphobia and dementia. And to push the narrative, we have this mix of pagan dread and Christian imagery which doesn't scream or feel preachy; it's just there. They seep together, superstition bleeding into the mundane. I loved the gender dynamics here - men as the creepy ritualists, women as the leads? Yeah, that hits different.

Now, Fréwaka isn't flawless; that doesn't mean it's bad, though. It succeeds with its horror tropes popping up, playing with the usual suspects (that red door, the horseshoe, the Virgin Mary statue glowing like something's very wrong-those shots stuck with me). I even thought of some shots from "Litan (1982)" and "The Other Side of the Underneath (1972)" - check out my reviews if you haven't seen 'em. Also, The Wicker Man parallels are obvious, and yeah, there's some A24 flavor in the slow, atmospheric dread (plus, that goat in full regalia staring into your soul and at our lady).

It wasn't as bloody and gory as I expected, but it was intriguing and kept me hooked. Just wish the ending hadn't felt so rushed, and the credits sequence felt kinda tacked on. Even the soundtrack, which was mostly good, could've gone darker, weirder with some more experimental touches instead of playing it safe.

In closing, Clarke's sticking to her themes from her first film, carving out her own lane in folklore horror, digging into the same raw, historical wounds as before, and doing what it sets out to do. She's for sure an important voice in horror right now. I'd say genre fans should definitely check this one out. Also, I'd recommend you check out The Devil's Bath (2024) - might make for a good double bill. Despite a few little stumbles in both, they'll probably do it for you.

Why ? Why nothing, why a thousand of clichés for nothing ?

Why everything is going slower and slower each minute of this movie ?

Why does everything important and with a little piece of action seems to all happen elsewhere ? Why bother trying to make a story when you have NO CLUE of what to do at the core of the plot ?

It's like the story tells you : put anything you want on top of that, I keep it generic and boring so anything can stick to it.

If this movie was written by Chat GPT I wouldn't be surprised.

Don't waste your time and go watch KING TIDE instead of this boring, long , cliché, border line stupid, totally lost in the story movie...

Fréwaka: Bleak Irish Folk Horror involving Fairy abductions, these Fairies however are very much of the Pagan variety and the film has a touch of The Wicker Man about it. In a prologue set in 1973, Mummers wearing straw masks crash Peig's wedding, they bring a goat with .them. Peig goes outside and disappears, her husband Daithi just sees a goat. Dearg Doom by Horslips is playing in the background. 99% of the dialogue in this film is as Gaeilge (in Irish). The present day, we see a woman commit suicide, to be found weeks later. Her estranged daughter Shoo turns up with her pregnant partner Mila, to clear out the apartment. Shoo is called away to care for a now invalid and isolated Peig, locals are reluctant to visit or deliver goods to her. Shoo has to force entry and finds the house filled with metal objects, salt and urine to keep the Fairies out. The cellar door has a horseshoe and other iron pieces attached. Peig believes that she was taken by the Fairies to another house underneath her own and Daithi made a deal to get her back and then committed suicide. Most of the locals are standoffish but one tells Shoo that Peig was in an asylum or Magdalene Laundry. The house itself is a character. A minor stately home, although its furnishings e.g. Stuffed animals would be more typical if those from an ascendency background, neither Peig or Daithi seem o fit that mould. It is large and rambing with the ever present cellar door providing both an attraction and a danger. A visitor might be a Fairy, at least Peig thinks so. Most of the horror here is psychological, it is suggested rather than shown except when Peig and Shoo reveal their scars (both physical and mental) to each other. There are some violent scenes though. Shoo's relationship with Mila also becomes strained. There is a question about how much that Shoo observes is real and we have reason to question it. Goats are a constant motif as is a strange boy, along with Catholic religious imagery and statuettes.. All of the threads eventually tie together suggesting to me at least that there is an occult explanation for the events. As well as Horslips, Die Hexen provides a haunting score. I thought Horslips' version of King of the Fairies would have fitted better than Dearg Doom but everyone's a critic these days. Written and directed by Aislinn Clarke. 8/10.

Saw a screening at the Estonian horror film festival with a couple of friends and it really exemplified how people can see films differently. Two of my companions saw it as a situation of a promising start and a let down second half, while it seemed somewhat the opposite for me.

I liked the start well enough, but for me it really got going and achieved its peaks later on. My companions didn't like the seemingly meaningless long shots in which they felt nothing happened and nothing was really explained, while for me it's something that made the movie better.

Granted, I have a thing for folk horror that is done with some respect for authenticity and reverence towards some aspects of folk beliefs and I love compelling visions of "other worlds" and dangers that are not completely explained. I loved the contemplative tempo and the feeling conjured of how it was all meaningful in a deeper sense, but not quite understandable on the intellectual level. The music, the cinematography and the editing are the true highlights, but it was a great movie for me over-all. Inspired me towards realizing some of my own ideas of supernatural "other worlds" myself in literary or some other form, but as I described with the alternative view of my companions, your mileage may vary. To me it just seems that some people want more precise narratives with more fixed meaning, while I apparently often prefer the opposite, something with as David Lynch would put it "room to dream". For me it didn't manage to go far enough on some regards to get to a 9/10, but it is a very strong 8/10 for me. Hoping to see more horror by the director. She really seems to have a knack for some aspects I value quite highly.