Mlungu Wam

This movie had all the makings of a really solid horror, however it kind of landed in the middle for me.

This is definitely a slow burn and doesn't really pick up till the third act. However, I was still entertained and it kept my attention. The acting was superb in this, all around. I wish the story had just a bit more meat on its bones. A lot happens, but it also feels like not all that much happens.

They were successful in creating quite a spooky atmosphere, with an intriguing story and it was shot and edited beautifully. Would recommend.

The acting, the camera work and the editing are good, the music is very good, the script is tight and raw, and the concept (Apartheid-based racial horror) was very promising. Unfortunately the scenario does not take up, ill-served by a credible but unlikable main character, with whom the spectator struggles to identify. The end result is a fine piece of social observation sprinkled with fantastic elements that feel unecessary (the dog), or cheesy (hieroglyphics).

Specters real and imagined haunt a suburban Cape Town home. Tsidi moves in with her mother Mavis who works as a caretaker to a rich, elderly white woman in the home. Mavis tries not to make noise, touch anything, or make her presence known, and Tsidi chastises her for pretending not to live in her own place. Tsidi insists that Mavis gives this white woman, the good madam, too much power. For stirring up trouble, this is when the spirits stir up the same for Tsidi in return.

Common sounds such as cooking, draining water, and closing doors turn into ominous messages in this psychological satirical and allegorical thriller. The film makers expressed in the question and answer session after the film that they hoped a film would result in a spark of conversation. Dialogue was improvised.

World premiere seen at the Toronto international film festival.

For fans of a good slow burn full of local folklore, enigmatic messages and creepy imagery. It can be a bit slow for some or a bit ambigous for other - for me, both of these elements worked really well (even if the ending is not totally satisfactory).

Great technical elements, a very confident direction, atmospheric with an almost perfect of the music...this is also elevated by the message and the many metaphorical elements in scene that work really well even if you take the supernatural elements. A fan.

I am not surprised that the IMDB scores are low for this one even though I liked it very much. For people who don't like slow burn movies, this one is absolutely not for you. But if you like a elevated psychological horror with a slow emerging mystery, then don't miss it. The film is concerned with a south african family in South Africa post apartheid. A black elderly woman has been the caretaker of a elderly white woman who is bedridden and near death. The woman who takes care of the white woman and her family have a history in this beautiful modern home. Some of this history is dark which affect the adult daughter of the caretaker. She has dark memories from her own childhood growing up in the home. But she finds herself between her mother, the caretaker who is loyal to the white female and maticularly takes care of the home, and the daughter's little girl who loves the home.

Anyway, I really appreciate these international horror films because I really do love horror with cultural differences from American films. They are unique and not cookie cutter hollywood films. The actors, direction, and the cinematography is outstanding. I also liked the twisty end to this psychological mystery.