Mandrake - Wurzel des Bösen

When I was given the opportunity to sit down and watch the 2022 horror movie "Mandrake", of course I did so. I had not heard about the movie prior to watching it, so I didn't know what I was in for, aside from the obvious deduction about it being a witchcraft movie of sorts, given the title of the movie and the movie's cover.

Writer Matt Harvey put together an entertaining enough script for the movie, however I have to say that I didn't really fully understand the meaning of the storyline. But it made for an adequate enough viewing experience, as the movie was genuinely mysterious and somewhat of a movie that slightly dug its way under the skin.

I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in "Mandrake", but they had some good actors and actresses on the cast list. And I will say that Derbhle Crotty, playing Mary Laidlaw, really carried the movie quite well with her performance.

Visually then "Mandrake" is low-key, but it works so well, because the effects are realistic, dark, brooding and have a somewhat ominous feel to them. And that works quite well in favor of the movie, adding a lot of atmosphere in the scenes.

While the movie's storyline was somewhat going above my head, then "Mandrake" was an interesting movie. Though I doubt that I will ever return to watch it a second time. But I will say that it is definitely a horror movie well-worth checking out.

My rating of director Lynne Davison's 2022 horror movie "Mandrake" lands on a five out of ten stars.

This is going to be difficult. I have to use 600 characters to say how dull this film is when it can be summed up very easily in just 17 characters, "this is a boring film". So, by necessity, there's going to be a lot of padding, five hundred and eighty seven characters worth to be very precise. I could try using a longer word for dull, like tedious for example but it's only three characters more than dull. I wonder what the longest word I can find meaning dull? Hold on, I'll look it up....wearisome, that seems to be the longest word meaning dull. Unless you know better. So, I think that's about 600. That's good enough.

Cathy Madden is a divorced mom to a young son and a probation officer. She volunteers to take on Mary Laidlaw. According to the locals, Mary is a witch to be feared although Cathy refuses to believe in any superstition. When two kids go missing, suspicion immediately falls on Mary.

This is a British indie horror. The pacing is slow for the most part, but it has good solid spookiness especially from Mary Laidlaw. Cathy is an interesting and underneath troubled character. I was hoping for supernatural. This is fine. The ending is a bit muddled and I wanted a bigger fight. This is fine especially for a lower budget horror.

I truly do not understand the lower rating here. Regardless if you 'liked' the film, I think just about anyone can easily tell that it is very well done. The mood and atmosphere, which I feel is of UTMOST importance in a Folk Horror film, is done quite well and builds a nice, creepy tone. That is only enhanced by excellent cinematography and very competent writing and acting.

I wouldn't say that this movie is among the VERY best of this type. Ben Wheatley's 'IN THE EARTH' and the family produced film 'THE DEEPER YOU DIG' are superiour, especially the fantastic mood/atmosphere created in the Wheatley film. But, to me the quality in the way it was conceived and executed is certainly far above average in my lowly and wretched opinion.

If you like creepy Folk Horror, I really think that you cannot miss in watching this film. Some have thought the 2nd half of the story was somewhat 'Muddled' and unclear, but to me I felt that specifically in the 2nd half, the motivations of Mary and what and why she was doing what she was doing were very clear. Also, without any spoilers, the ending I feel is definitely showing us what MAY happen and why.

I very much enjoyed this movie and for those who like this type of Folk Horror I would indeed recommend it!

I love horror movies from the UK, British, Irish, Welsh and Scottish horror movies seem to be the most effective, probably because they tend to be more atmospheric and low key and don't go for gross out torture porn. Mandrake is a very moody and dark story with excellent acting and a very creepy musical score that helps build tension.

The two leads are very good and carry their roles well. It's nice to see a movie not relying on the typical damsel in distress trope, but having a strong female protagonist.

This is a very effective horror movie for those that want something a little different..