MAY ?? - Pyewacket

 

            I put this movie in my possession lineup mostly because I wanted to watch it, and because I ran out of possession movies I wanted to see. So forgive me if it’s a bit of a stretch. Indeed, there is no possession in this movie, and no exorcism, though it does focus on one of the secret topics of many a possession film, adolescent angst. It might feel more at home among my Silly Satanist movies of January (coming soon!) what with its merry occultism, rituals, and pentagrams.

            Teenager Leah Reyes and her mother are mourning the death of Leah’s father. Leah turns to the occult and death metal to ease her grief; her mom turns to wine and crying alone in her room. In need of change, Leah’s mom moves them to a cabin hours away from Leah’s goth squad, and after a nasty fight Leah takes her own drastic action by summoning a demon to kill her mom. When the two reconcile, Leah regrets her wish but it’s too late, and things get creepy quick.

            Pyewacket is sparing with its scares, using some Evil Dead style tracking-cam to make best use of the eerie Canadian woods. For much of the movie’s second act it’s not clear how much Leah realizes the stakes of her situation, and only takes action to solve her predicament late in the game. There are some infuriatingly dumb horror decisions made here. In the final act, shit really hits the fan with some excellent monster design and a sucker punch of the ending. I was hoping that this would end up like The Babadook, but it takes a turn for the Hereditary instead. Not that there’s any grand twist; the movie pretty much tells you what you’re gonna get and then gives it to you. But it’s ending is similarly depressing. I’m not sure the film perfectly strikes the balance between slow-burn and scarefest, but it does a pretty solid job.

            Though it sets itself up as a meditation on grief in the manner of much of 2010s horror, it’s really more about the relationship between Leah and her mother than the absent father. This characterization is the movie’s strongest part and makes the bummer of an ending hit so well. Leah and her mom are both well-drawn, complicated characters who feel real by the end. Leah is very much a teen, grumpy and difficult but mostly just in need of love. Her mom is struggling too, but at heart is a cheesy and caring mother. Both actresses deliver standout performances.

            Ultimately, Pyewacket feels like a short story, a contained little fable with a moral. There’s no epic experience of terror here, but some good folktale spooks and a strong story, even if it ends up feeling a little less than its ninety minutes.

Vibecheck: Creepy woods + teen goth vibes

Scare Factor: If you watch this alone in the dark, it will get to you.

Pairs Well With: Teeth is like a mirror image of this movie, lacking the strong characterization but with more symbolism, a larger scope, and more fucked-up deliciousness. Even though Leah’s little buddies are goths, and the Teeth protagonist has a squad of purity-cult Christians, the vibe felt weirdly similar.

But How Gay Is It?: Leah has a crush on one of her male friends, but she has the best chemistry with her pal Janice, who accompanies Leah to her house to investigate the demon, making her the most useful friend by far.

Girlfriend’s Corner: Sara tried to get me to watch this with the promise that the lead actress looked kinda like Noted Tran Nicole Maines, and guess what? She did! She really did! (I refused to watch any of the movie, because Sara said it was going to be very sad and I can’t deal with that!) Speaking as A Tran, I can’t think of a higher mark of passing than having people say extremely non-clocky cis girls look like you. Congratulations to Nicole Maines, noted childhood transitioner and actress who almost singlehandedly redeemed the movie Bit!