Siembamba

I don't watch horror movies expecting a great story. I expect to be entertained, disturbed, frightened and disoriented. This movie did all of that.

Without spoiling too much, the main character (Chloe) returns to her hometown, struggling with her own emotions after bearing a baby she does not seem to want initially. she begins to see very strange and horrific things after moving back into her home. This is exacerbated by the presence of her mother (Ruby) and her shrink (Dr. Timothy Reed), whose competence and ethics was questionable throughout the movie.

The cinematography is very well-done. I was not at all disappointed with the way the film was shot. Although, the story does not have to be great in a horror movie, but as with most movies, the story ought not be overly confusing and vague. While watching this film I get the sense that sometimes, the incoherent story was written this way intentionally. Vagueness and open-endedness is great for a horror movie, but I felt that it was not executed smoothly in this one.

The actors did an excellent job, especially Reine Swart (Chloe) and Brandon Auret (Timothy Reed). The only black spot was Adam Hess, who played Chloe's love interest. He was dull and uninteresting throughout the entire movie and seemed to serve no relevant purpose. Chloe does an excellent job portraying a disturbed and distraught new mother. The supporting characters all seemed to have their own agendas, and trying to find out what those agendas were, kept me interested up until the end. As for Chloe, the movie kept me thinking whether she was hallucinating, or whether she was experiencing something paranormal (or even both at different times).

In the end, I would recommend giving this movie a watch if one has time to spare. The movie kept me uncomfortable and curious throughout the entirety of the movie up until the ending, which is what you want in a horror flick. The final scene caused me shock (in a good way) but unsatisfied due to how the story unfolded towards the end. Most of the characters had a lot of layers, and the intentions of the supporting characters were unclear even until the end if one does not do a bit of thinking of their own. Be warned, this movie contains some disturbing gore.

This was not a forgettable movie in the slightest. In fact, some scenes will haunt your memories for days to come. However, due to the unsatisfying ending and the overly confusing nature of the plot, it keeps me from giving it anything higher than a 6 out of 10, which makes this a passably entertaining, yet unfortunately flawed film.

In Eden Rock, the pregnant Chloe van Heerden (Reine Swart) returns to the house of her estranged mother Ruby (Thandi Puren). She refuses to tell her mother who the father is. She delivers the boy Liam, but fall in depression and lives an ambiguous situation, rejecting Liam and trying also to be a good mother. When she starts to see an evil entity and hear humming and shh, she visits the psychologist of her mother, Dr. Timothy Reed (Brandon Auret), who prescribes pills to her, believing she has baby blues. Meanwhile Chloe recalls how she got pregnant after leaving Ruby and her best friend Adam Hess (Deànré Reiners).

"Siembamba" is an atmospheric horror movie, with a messy screenplay for a simple storyline. The best this film can offer is the magnificent performance of the unknown Reine Swart. She never tells anyone her dramatic fate after leaving home, and the creepy scenes are hard to understand. Is the evil entity part of her insanity process or is she real? The film fails since is not clear. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Siembamba, A Canção do Mal" ("Siembamba, The Song of Evil")

Words cannot do justice to the film and story. The supernatural crossing is an overlap of trauma centered on motherhood and the destructive nature of patriarchy. This is not a film for those overly sensitive to infanticide and sexual assault.

I am well aware of what postpartum psychosis is and this is a really good depiction of it. This movie is more of a psychological horror than a full on jump scare horror. The mental illness was shown very well and for that I'm glad.

I feel like this would have benefited with better talent attached to it. I would have much rather it be a drama/thriller. To me all the demonic haunted house delusions, weaken what could have been. the lead actress looks like barbra palvin