Mandrake

When I was given the opportunity to sit down and watch the 2022 horror movie "Mandrake", of course I did so. I had not heard about the movie prior to watching it, so I didn't know what I was in for, aside from the obvious deduction about it being a witchcraft movie of sorts, given the title of the movie and the movie's cover.

Writer Matt Harvey put together an entertaining enough script for the movie, however I have to say that I didn't really fully understand the meaning of the storyline. But it made for an adequate enough viewing experience, as the movie was genuinely mysterious and somewhat of a movie that slightly dug its way under the skin.

I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in "Mandrake", but they had some good actors and actresses on the cast list. And I will say that Derbhle Crotty, playing Mary Laidlaw, really carried the movie quite well with her performance.

Visually then "Mandrake" is low-key, but it works so well, because the effects are realistic, dark, brooding and have a somewhat ominous feel to them. And that works quite well in favor of the movie, adding a lot of atmosphere in the scenes.

While the movie's storyline was somewhat going above my head, then "Mandrake" was an interesting movie. Though I doubt that I will ever return to watch it a second time. But I will say that it is definitely a horror movie well-worth checking out.

My rating of director Lynne Davison's 2022 horror movie "Mandrake" lands on a five out of ten stars.

MANDRAKE tells the story of a probation officer who is supposed to oversee the rehabilitation into a rural community of a woman who killed her husband and went to prison for 20 years. The locals think she is a witch, and indeed when the probation officer visits her home, there are unsettling signs everywhere: her house is full of occult objects, she behaves rather strangely, and she somehow knows things, like that the officer has a son (who in the film displays symptoms consistent with cystic fibrosis) and that the father, her ex-husband, is the local police officer. Soon two local kids go missing and everyone suspects the "witch".

The biggest problem with this movie is that it does not make the motivations of the villain clear. What was the reason for the kids' fate? What did the villain ultimately want? What were the plans for the "mandrake baby"? If the two victims in the first part of the movie were meant as a sacrifice, how did the villain not consider the immediate consequences?

Some possibilities are hinted at, but the film does not rally explore them, so they end up being little more than suggestions for a guess. As the movie has a sort of open end, the lack of sense in the motivations of the villain becomes quite annoying. I feel like I spent nearly 1.5 hours watching a a sequence of events play out without understanding what drove it.

I like my villains well-motivated, so to me this is a fairly significant drawback. On the other hand, the film does a good job of going into unpredictable directions, and it is undeniably atmospheric. Fans of horror films which put a premium on atmosphere will like this film, but those who like to understand character motivations will likely feel frustrated.

It seemed like there was much potential to be had here but it just slipped away somehow. The film quality and scene locations were great, seeming to set everything up for a dark, twisted and impactful little folk horror movie. But it just never materialized.

Stereotypical characters followed a stereotypical plot and ended up at a stereotypical ending... if they had focused more on the woods and the mandrake and the evil magic at work, it could have been a great movie, I think.

This is a good "ten o'clock Saturday morning movie to pass the time." But I wouldn't recommend caring about it after 6PM.

Too bad, it felt like there was a lot of missed potential...

Cathy Madden is a divorced mom to a young son and a probation officer. She volunteers to take on Mary Laidlaw. According to the locals, Mary is a witch to be feared although Cathy refuses to believe in any superstition. When two kids go missing, suspicion immediately falls on Mary.

This is a British indie horror. The pacing is slow for the most part, but it has good solid spookiness especially from Mary Laidlaw. Cathy is an interesting and underneath troubled character. I was hoping for supernatural. This is fine. The ending is a bit muddled and I wanted a bigger fight. This is fine especially for a lower budget horror.

Great collective performances of the Mandrake's cast sets the movie's standard high. Great dialogues not even the slightest overdoing. It's a unique story with an equally unique northern Irish setup. The remoteness and it's culture is fitting very well with the damp gloomy woods of witches. Cinematography is excellent intensifying the this folk horror story. Great visuals rich with the cold misty colour of the surroundings. Mandrake is a story involving a infamous criminal out of prison and a demon figure roaming marshland so that's a pretty good mix and it's all about people who become naive due to great expectations.