Raging Grace

When I sat down to watch the 2023 movie "Raging Grace", I thought I was in for a horror movie. Truth be told, I had never actually heard about the movie prior to sitting down to watch it, but the synopsis sounded interesting enough, and it was labelled as a horror movie. So of course I opted to give the movie a fair chance.

The storyline and narrative in "Raging Grace" was a bit of a swing and a miss. Sure, there were things in the script that seemed interesting enough, but the overall impression that director Paris Zarcilla left me with throughout the course of the 99 minutes that the movie ran for was a bland one.

There wasn't a whole lot happening throughout the course of the movie, and you need to go about 75 minutes into the movie before things actually start to take off. But nothing ever really happens, and the movie doesn't really take off. It was a rather anti-climatic viewing experience.

Writers Pancake Zarcilla and Paris Zarcilla didn't impress me with this 2023 movie. And it is a movie that will just quietly fade into oblivion and obscurity, because this is not a movie that will grace my screen a second time.

It was not because of the acting performances, not at all. Because the acting performances in the movie were good, and they definitely had some good actresses and actors on the cast list. I wasn't familiar with leading actress Max Eigenmann (playing Joy), but she really carried the movie quite nicely. And it certainly was nice to see actor David Hayman on the screen in his particular role and character.

"Raging Grace" is more of a thriller mystery than a horror movie. But calling it a thriller is actually stretching it a bit as well.

My rating of "Raging Grace" lands on a very generous four out of ten stars.

"Joy" (Max Eigenmann) is struggling to find work and bring up her young daughter "Grace" (Jaeden Paige Boadilla) in a Britain where she has no legal status. That sends her down the agency cleaning route where she arrives at the large home of "Katherine" (Leanne Best) who is looking after her bedridden elderly uncle "Garrett" (David Hayman). Now her new employer knows nothing of the daughter, even though her's is a live-in appointment. It's only when "Katherine" has to go away for a weekend leaving the elderly man - and his medication - in her care, that "Grace" can be herself a bit more and we start to realise that there's something fishy going on. Indeed, a mishap with the pills starts to enliven this hitherto husk of a man and we soon start to wonder if "Katherine" isn't up to no good. The enigmatic "Garrett" is clearly no saint either, and though he befriends the curious and friendly "Grace" with hot chocolate, it's increasingly clear that he too has an agenda - especially when her mother is rounded up by immigration officials. Most of this film is actually unremarkable, but the last half hour or so does liven it up a little as all of the characters start to come into play and the story begins to pick up some pace. Hayman delivers quite well, keeping us guessing for a while about the true nature of his character, but the rest of the acting and the writing are neither here nor there and there is much too much preamble. The denouement reminded me a little of something Edgar Wright might have delivered, but otherwise it's not really much more than an OK watch.

I see a lot of people missing the point of the film by saying it disregards the topic of immigration. The director, Paris Zarcilla choose the horror genre having this issue in mind and in his heritage. There's a delightful play with tempo and rhythm in the film, as well as many details that have been carefully though of. The camerawork and editing give the movie a quality that is normally found in productions with larger budgets. It refuses to be a simple informative film about the topic of immigration that can be easily consumed, but rather opts for sudden jumpscares to allow the audience to feel the fright and uneasy situations immigrants have to go through. It reaches a subjective level and also has some beautifully symmetrical arrangements that give for a film with a couple of plot-twists.

Plot

An undocumented Filipina immigrant lands a job as a care-worker for a terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. But a dark discovery threatens to destroy everything she's strived for and holds dear.

Cast

With the exception of David Hayman I knew nobody involved.

Verdict

A British/Philippine collaboration, my watching this was oddly accidental. You see the film was labelled incorrectly, it wasn't until about half way through I resigned myself to the fact it wasn't the intended film but by that point I was invested.

So it was a pot luck movie and not at all a waste of time either, it was quite the odd little surprise.

Starting off as a gritty drama it descends into a suspenseful thriller and goes in a couple of directions you most certainly will not see coming!

An odd little tale it touches upon immigration and the perils of those who fight to stay on our shores, but a lot of that is drowned out by the plot and isn't a major factor in the story in the slightest.

Hayman is excellent here, suitably creepy and our leading lady put in a strong performance as well.

It's interesting, but it's forgettable.

Rants

When it comes to immigration it's another subject matter that one political side seems to hear something else when you speak of it. To them pro-immigration = Open borders, I can confidently say I've never met anyone who wants open borders before! It's a wonderful concept isn't it? The idea that you can travel freely and set down roots wherever you want within red tape. It should be a thing, but even the slightest drop of logic is enough to bring you back down to earth and appreciate it just couldn't happen. But demonizing people for wanting a better life or in many instances wanting to simply live is even less logical.

Breakdown

Interesting film Great twist David Hayman is great Some parts fall flat Forgettable.