The Surrender

I went into this flick with fairly low expectations and was pleasantly surprised, even though it doesn't quite stick the landing in the end. We follow Colby Minifie, who is visiting her parents' house after her father becomes ill and eventually dies. With a rather difficult relationship with her mother, she now tries to reconnect with her. However, her mother is planning to perform a resurrection ritual, and things obviously don't go as planned.

Let me start off by saying that I would love to see Colby Minifie in more projects. I already really liked her in The Boys, and here she does a commendable job as well. She is able to convey the emotional weight packed into this film but also has great comedic timing and an overall unique screen presence. Her mother, played by Kate Burton, was also convincing and portrayed the role of a grieving woman desperate to bring her husband back very well.

The movie starts off rather slow, exploring the family dynamics by combining emotional depth with small comedic moments. The mixture overall works well and pulls the audience into the narrative. Once the ritual begins, the first harrowing moments occur, and the movie picks up the pace slightly. Despite the slow pacing and dialogue-driven opening, it never gets boring.

When they finish the ritual, I was hoping for the grand finale that had been teased in the film's earlier moments. The tone completely shifts, and the setting becomes almost otherworldly, with the characters trapped inside a protective circle surrounded by nothing but black. It creates a tense and eerie atmosphere.

Without spoiling the ending, I have to say I wasn't fully satisfied with the film's conclusion. Sadly, the ending is often the most memorable part of a movie, and with this one showing such potential, it's disappointing that it didn't quite stick the landing. Still, it's a decent horror film that explores familiar themes in a unique and interesting way, even if it doesn't deliver anything particularly memorable in the end. I enjoyed the final product, but I couldn't help but leave feeling a little unsatisfied. [5.8/10]

But there's something about Julie Max's first direct debut "The Surrender" that delves deeper into the darker sides of the human psyche, exploring the different impacts of what it's like for two people to experience a void from the same common denominator. In reality, you could look at this film is contained for its benefit. It's confined to a couple of indoor spaces with four characters. At the most annoying fracture is a mother/daughter relationship. How many times did the daughter called her (mom)? The entire film? Is very annoying, get this the ending of the movie will feel like it needs about 10 more minutes of the story and unfortunately 91 minutes without the credits went by fast. So I am rating this a 5.6/10 because the first time director should give massive credit to her work she'd accomplish.

Finally, something good on Shudder - and it's very good. The Surrender is a visceral slow-burn that you feel more than you see. It's a grief-soaked character study with horror woven in so subtly, it creeps up on you. Colby Minifie is magnetic - raw, restrained, and utterly believable - carrying much of the emotional weight with devastating ease. The supernatural elements take a backseat to something more intimate and human, which makes the unsettling moments land even harder.

What's most impressive is how much this film achieves on a modest budget. Even better, it's directed by Julia Max, bringing a fresh and powerful female perspective to the horror genre. Max leans into shadow, silence, and sound design to create something quietly haunting. It's not flashy, and that's its strength. This is horror that listens instead of screams - a proper gem in Shudder's line-up.

This started off bad and got worse, setting the scene and building characters is important. But this dragged on for 45 minutes or so, then the guy comes who is going to do the magic....

As if by this point I wasn't ready to call it a day and succumb to fact I'd utterly wasted 50 minutes the decision was made.

The acting is weak and it gets weaker, whilst I only made it to minute 50.. I'd urge you to save yourself at least 50 minutes. Plenty of other good horror's/thrillers.

In the first part of the film I watched it simply goes over and over the same content, giving the sick guy his meds. Mummy is not happy with the daughter and over and over it goes, one might even go so far as to say this is meant to build plot. It doesn't, the only thing is builds is boredom and the certainty that you made a big mistake putting this film on!

"The Surrender" is a supernatural folklore-horror that centres on a mother-daughter conflict.

Despite its promising premise-a meditation on death, grief, and the unbearable pain of loss-the story never quite fulfils its potential.

The writer-director Julia Max's feature debut reveals a striking eye for visuals and atmosphere. Her aesthetic choices are superb, especially in the film's last moments, where grief tension simmer beneath the surface.

However, when the narrative shifts from family drama to occult ritual, coherence begins to falter. The film descends into a kind of beautiful nonsense, evoking echoes of Hereditary, Talk to Me, A Dark Song, The Babadook, and, more recently, The Shrouds.

Max draws layered performances from her leads. Megan (Colby Minifie) and Barbara (Kate Burton) are emotionally distinct and compelling.

Barbara is cold and resolute in her quest to resurrect her husband Robert (Vaughn Armstrong) after a tormented illness, while Megan wrestles with doubt, torn between empathy and skepticism, burdened by the ongoing pain of watching her father suffer.

The core idea is clear, and there's real potential for emotional impact in its exploration of the truths we're most reluctant to face.

The narrative gaps and tonal inconsistencies are too evident to ignore. The film digs into deep themes but struggles to land with clarity and keep viewers engaged.

There are moments worth honoring, such as how the film plays intriguingly with trauma, hope, and monstrosity-blending psychological horror with gore and body horror elements.

It stirs something compelling, even if the final result feels more like an atmospheric sketch than a fully realised vision.

"The Surrender" doesn't over-explain itself-a refreshing choice in a genre often burdened by exposition. Yet at times, it veers too far into the cryptic, resembling a literal descent into a hellish purgatory, leaving the audience more adrift than intrigued.

Is it a bad film? Absolutely not. It's flawed, but not without merit. Flawed but worthwhile, especially for fans of visually rich, boundary-pushing indie horror.

While "The Surrender" doesn't quite stick the landing, Max's bold vision and confident aesthetic suggest she's a filmmaker to watch.

Horror needs voices like hers-unsettling, ambitious, and willing to take risks.