Makr

A well crafted religious film. A fake sheikh, a sort of exorcism, a terrible truth and many possible interpretations. The lost of faith and its bitter consequences, the parenthood and the ordinary work becoming the fundamental challenge. All - simple, seductive, dark and source of a lot of questions. Admirable performances, the clock as cue and the precise answers of Khalid and his wife. The details of cooking. And the shadows. Inspired end.

Plot

A fake exorcist visits the home of a man who thinks his wife is possessed by a Djinn, only to find out that things are not as they seem.

Cast

Not familiar with anyone involved.

Verdict

Makr is a United Arab Emirates production, immediately this peaked my interests though possibly for the wrong reasons. Other than the US collaboration Contagion (2011) I'd not seen anything from the region.

It sees a faux Imam called to perform an exorcism on a young woman. A fraudster (Even more than usual) he charges the husband though uses tricks to give the impression that he did the job. Little does he realize he's walked into something real, though not what you'd assume.

At just under 14 minutes it manages to accomplish a lot and uses its time better than most shorts of its ilk, sadly the tale isn't the most interesting and though unpredictable its finale isn't fantastic.

I respect the effort, it just wasn't for me.

Breakdown + Well enough made

• Uninteresting

Rants

Honestly if you're stupid enough to pay for an exorcism then you deserve to get conned, and don't even get me started on the notion of doing so instead of getting the person genuine medical help. You can't exorcise a demon from a person on account of them not existing! Engage, with, reality.

This one has a strong Ari Aster vibes. Great cinematography, unexpected twist, pace and dialogue. Good job.