The Surrender

I went in not expecting much and was very pleasantly surprised. It kept our attention for the entire length of the film, which is something most recent horror movies have been unable to do.

Excellent performances from Colby Minife and Kate Burton. Their chemistry was just right, and both played effortlessly off each other.

The movie was fast paced, the cinematography was beautiful and captivating.

If you liked A Dark Song and Anything For Jackson, you might enjoy this movie. It combines elements of both while retaining some uniqueness.

My only gripe is, much like A Dark Song, the final act was lackluster. The ending was rather abrupt and clunky. It would've been nice to see it fleshed out a little more.

Still, overall, a solid watch.

But there's something about Julie Max's first direct debut "The Surrender" that delves deeper into the darker sides of the human psyche, exploring the different impacts of what it's like for two people to experience a void from the same common denominator. In reality, you could look at this film is contained for its benefit. It's confined to a couple of indoor spaces with four characters. At the most annoying fracture is a mother/daughter relationship. How many times did the daughter called her (mom)? The entire film? Is very annoying, get this the ending of the movie will feel like it needs about 10 more minutes of the story and unfortunately 91 minutes without the credits went by fast. So I am rating this a 5.6/10 because the first time director should give massive credit to her work she'd accomplish.

I strongly believe this movie deserves at least 6/10. Reminds me a lot of 'A Dark Song', which I think is also hugely underrated.

Here's why I liked this movie: 1) Perfect cast and acting. I notice these things. This movie is mostly played by just 2 actresses - and they do a brilliant job. That mom character got me angry like 3 seconds into the movie - too realistic!

2) Great canonical setup. The atmoshere, the ritual, the 'other place' - nicely done!

3) No unreasonable dialogue, no dumb actions (unexplained that is), no childish behavior, story is not driven by some unreasonable or unbelievable desires.

4) Its not drawn-out. Pace is good.

5) Execution, operator work, little CGI, costumes, decorations - production quality is high. I say that considering that Shudder usually produces low budget movies, yet this visually looks on par with any other movies out there. Dare I say it, nowadays many even 50million+ movies tend to look awful, unprofessional. This one on the contrary - delivers quality where it matters. Picture is simply pleasant to watch.

6) Drama is real, life-like, a tragedy, definetely comes from someone who experienced it, otherwise I don't know how they got it to be so precise.

Obviously there are also weak parts: 1) Story. The end is too abrupt. While it leaves room for speculation, it lacks build up, it lacks proper culmination, it lacks revelation. All these things could've been there with just a little push.

2) Horror. I get the grief, I get the manifestation, I know, this story is probably less about plain horror and more about one person's tragedy, and the drama surrounding it, but I'm just such a fan of a horror, I really want some detail to that part too, I want the theme to be explored and/or at least some clues to what exactly is happening. Yeah...

Overall, I was REALLY pleasently surprised.

This movie resonated with me.

But then a bit dissappointed too, I guess.

I understand the pain, all the pain in this one - I can understand all of it to it's depth - and its brilliantly portrayed.

But yet you've also made an attempt to involve more than that into this movie - a horror, a devil, an another world - and I was hoping for more of that. And I was also hoping for a resolution that wouldn't be so silent. The clearly was some room for that, why didn't it happen?!

"The Surrender" is a supernatural folklore-horror that centres on a mother-daughter conflict.

Despite its promising premise-a meditation on death, grief, and the unbearable pain of loss-the story never quite fulfils its potential.

The writer-director Julia Max's feature debut reveals a striking eye for visuals and atmosphere. Her aesthetic choices are superb, especially in the film's last moments, where grief tension simmer beneath the surface.

However, when the narrative shifts from family drama to occult ritual, coherence begins to falter. The film descends into a kind of beautiful nonsense, evoking echoes of Hereditary, Talk to Me, A Dark Song, The Babadook, and, more recently, The Shrouds.

Max draws layered performances from her leads. Megan (Colby Minifie) and Barbara (Kate Burton) are emotionally distinct and compelling.

Barbara is cold and resolute in her quest to resurrect her husband Robert (Vaughn Armstrong) after a tormented illness, while Megan wrestles with doubt, torn between empathy and skepticism, burdened by the ongoing pain of watching her father suffer.

The core idea is clear, and there's real potential for emotional impact in its exploration of the truths we're most reluctant to face.

The narrative gaps and tonal inconsistencies are too evident to ignore. The film digs into deep themes but struggles to land with clarity and keep viewers engaged.

There are moments worth honoring, such as how the film plays intriguingly with trauma, hope, and monstrosity-blending psychological horror with gore and body horror elements.

It stirs something compelling, even if the final result feels more like an atmospheric sketch than a fully realised vision.

"The Surrender" doesn't over-explain itself-a refreshing choice in a genre often burdened by exposition. Yet at times, it veers too far into the cryptic, resembling a literal descent into a hellish purgatory, leaving the audience more adrift than intrigued.

Is it a bad film? Absolutely not. It's flawed, but not without merit. Flawed but worthwhile, especially for fans of visually rich, boundary-pushing indie horror.

While "The Surrender" doesn't quite stick the landing, Max's bold vision and confident aesthetic suggest she's a filmmaker to watch.

Horror needs voices like hers-unsettling, ambitious, and willing to take risks.

There is something uncertain and magical in The Surrender as a mother and daughter struggle to manage as they face the dying of their husband and father. The metaphysical supernatural aspects made me ponder the notion of death in light of accepting this inevitability or fighting against letting go. In this aspect, the film is successful; the acting and direction set the scene well to contemplate this and ponder on this release.

The part that drew me away from this contemplation was the general annoyance of the two main characters. The mother and daughter fought, complained, bullied, capitulated, ruminated, and whined about each other for the present and the past. I once called put for the daughter to "Shut up!" even though I was annoyed at the mother for her inability to see past her own needs and desires. (The daughter was suggested to have her own purposes that were selfish as well.)

The family dynamics were a bit too dysfunctional for a clearer focus on grief and recovery. The extreme here lead me to think of a Greek tragedy, but the characters and the plot were too small to match that. Still, I left the film with a sense of having found my own way in grieving and glad I didn't need these extremes to find resolution in my own life.