The Reign of Queen Ginnarra

"Queen Ginnarra" is a captivating film that beautifully weaves together themes of greed resilience, and the pursuit of power From the moment the credits roll, viewers are drawn into the rich tapestry of Ginnarra's world, where the stunning cinematography and vibrant horrors create an immersive experience.

The lead performance is nothing short of mesmerizing, bringing depth and authenticity to the character. The supporting cast shines as well, with each actor contributing to the film's traumatic weight.

One of the standout aspects of "Queen Ginnarra" is its ability to inspire. The story of a young woman overcoming obstacles through murder.

"The Reign of Queen Ginnarra" is an ambitious and visually striking dark fantasy epic that skillfully blends medieval intrigue with cosmic horror, delivering a bold, brooding experience for fans of richly atmospheric storytelling. Director Lawrie Brewster conjures a mythic world, steeped in dread and divine delusion, where the line between prophecy and madness blurs.

Megan Tremethick gives a standout performance as Queen Ginnarra - an enigmatic ruler whose celestial visions and unyielding resolve slowly unravel into a dangerous obsession. Her performance is a compelling mix of regal presence and emotional fragility, capturing the queen's conviction while exposing the vulnerability beneath.

With every measured glance and silken word, Tremethick brings life to a character who is both ethereal and terrifying - a monarch as mesmerising as she is merciless, shrouded in stillness, secrecy and sinister allure, making Ginnarra both tragic and formidable.

The supporting cast, particularly Andrew Gourlay as the exiled Prince Eldoran, provides a grounded counterbalance to Tremethick's commanding presence. Gourlay brings a quiet strength to his role, anchoring the narrative's more mythic elements with emotional depth.

Filmed on location at historic Scottish sites, including the hauntingly beautiful Dunfermline Abbey, the cinematography is both sumptuous and shadow-drenched, evoking a world that feels both majestic and in decay. The production design - steeped in ritualistic symbolism and medieval texture, is equally immersive, enriching the atmosphere of a kingdom teetering on the edge of ruin.

Though its deliberate pacing and introspective tone may prove challenging to some viewers, "The Reign of Queen Ginnarra" rewards those who surrender to its rhythm with a richly woven tale of power, prophecy, and obsession. It's a testament to what independent cinema can achieve when vision, performance, and atmosphere align - and offers a haunting showcase of Megan Tremethick's remarkable talent.

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the archaeologist René Belloq opens up the Ark of the Covenant, the chest containing the tablets upon which God Himself inscribed the Ten Commandments. "It's beautiful!" he exclaims, after which his face melts off and his head explodes.

This is a superior viewing experience to Lawrie Brewster's The Reign of Queen Ginnarra, which offers neither the glimpse of beauty nor the mercy of death.

Ginnarra is the worst movie I have ever seen. If there is a site where I give it a star or a fraction thereof, it's because that site won't let me give it a zero. Its action isn't impressive, its horror isn't scary, and its characters aren't likeable. Its script is bad beyond the power of any actor to salvage. Of the ten or so people I endured this movie with from beginning to end, not one person had a word to say in its defense. If you don't read any more of this review, at least take away this: Ginnarra is not worth paying for, it is not worth watching for free, and if you are offered money to watch it, don't say yes for anything under four figures.

I go into further detail on the Letterboxd version of this review (which has spoilers), as that site has no character limit. Absent the ample room necessary to recount this movie's laundry list of sins, I will give the short version for IMDb: its script is bad, its plot is incoherent, and the whole things is full of shoddy, AI-generated effects that make it feel cheap and low-effort. It's twenty minutes' worth of substance inflated into over two and a half painful hours. It fails at everything it attempts, and what it attempted was so jejune as to not have been worth trying. Watching The Reign of Queen Ginnarra left me a broken wreck of a man, and my recovery will be the work of decades.

If you wake up in a theater where this is playing, don't walk out, run. In a pinch, see if there's anything within arm's reach you can use to blind yourself.

Do not recommend.

Brilliant story that hits you right way, especially that it's delivered by such a great actors! Extremely dark, heavily inspired by Amicus/Hammer (any if you're a fan of these you will definitely enjoy this movie) yet very fresh and unique take on horror! I love how this movie has a great balance between borowing from genre classics in a way that they almost pay a tribute to horrors we all love and creating new, unique ideas.

Shots and scenes are simply beautiful, very artistic, like a gothic paintings.

Give this a watch , we have to support projects like this. British Horror Studio, thank you!

I watched this film at the Romford Horror Film Festival. It is truly epic in scale yet it is grounded in the terrifying prospect of the power of amoral, indifferent gods being used to buttress tyranny. This is all very pertinent to the times that we currently live in which shocks us daily with it's increasingly naked exercise of power.

Particular credit must go to Megan Tremethick for her chilling yet magnetic performance as the titular queen. Her presence holds the film together as she compells you to stare every further into the dark heart of her will to power. I found that the film stayed with me for days after I finished watching it.