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Attachment is a Queer horror film steeped in Jewish folklore written and directed by Gabriel Bier GislasonIt in his feature-length film debut. At the center of the film's narrative is a love-at-first-sight romance between a Danish former actress and a Jewish academic from London. It boasts a rather endearing meet-cute between its leads in a public library when the two quite literally bump into each other dropping their books. The two strike up a whirlwind courtship, but unbeknownst to them, something sinister lurks beneath the surface. The film stars Josephine Park, Ellie Kendrick, Sofie Gråbøl, and David Dencik.

When Leah (Kendrick) suffers a terrifying and mysterious seizure, breaking her leg with a horrifying snap, Maja (Park) fears their relationship may end before it truly begins. She decides to accompany Leah back to her home-a multi-story flat in London she shares with her Mother-in the Hasidic neighborhood of Stamford Hill. There, she meets Leah's mother, Chana (Gråbøl), an unpleasant, domineering, and secretive woman. Chana resists Maja's attempts to bond with and get to know her. When Maja begins to notice strange seemingly supernatural occurrences in the apartments, she begins to suspect that Chana is conjuring something to keep Leah's love and devotion for herself. The superstitions and traditions of Orthodox Judaism play a role in the film's narrative, bringing authenticity to its setting and keeping us intrigued for the most part in its quiet moments.

Kendrick and Park deliver engaging and believable performances as a couple experiencing the familiar "meet-the-parents" friction, but the leads lack chemistry, making the romance itself unconvincing. While I love folk horror as much as the next person, the supernatural elements of the film are so subtle, that they are easily overlooked until the film's finale. The ending ties everything into a proverbial and somewhat clichéd bow that'll leave some viewers dissatisfied. It is a very slow burn that suffers ever so slightly from its pacing but it still manages to deliver an unexpected payoff.

While it isn't overtly scary and it takes a while for the story to get going, there's a great red herring and plenty of little supernatural chills. In addition to Jewish folklore stories that I have a keen interest in (naming them would give too much away), Attachment explores the deep bonds of love, superstition, and the complex nature of mother-daughter relationships. It's an allegory for codependence and the dangers of imbalanced relationships.

Attachment offers a refreshing angle in the horror genre by combining queer romance with Jewish folklore, something rarely seen onscreen. Director Gabriel Bier Gislason crafts a story that's as much about cultural identity and maternal control as it is about demonic possession.

Josephine Park and Ellie Kendrick have genuine chemistry, and their relationship feels warm and lived-in, grounding the film emotionally. The Copenhagen-to-London shift brings an intriguing change in tone, with Sofie Gråbøl's portrayal of the overbearing mother adding an undercurrent of unease that grows steadily.

However, while the film handles its characters with care, the horror elements feel subdued. The mythology is fascinating but not fully explored, and the tension never quite peaks. It's more eerie than terrifying, and the pacing falters in the final act.

Final verdict: Attachment is heartfelt and thematically rich, with strong performances and cultural nuance. But as a horror film, it plays things a little too safe-leaving it more touching than terrifying. A modest success with a unique voice.

Certainly a must watch film for fans of the genre. The casting, cinematography, acting, scores and writing are all very good. There were only a couple things which held it back from being a true great.

The first is that despite that it's a horror movie with an 18+ rating it isn't very scary at all. There are some good creepy elements here and there and the mood gets rather spooky from time to time but it never comes close to a full follow through and give you any dread or fear that you might come to expect with these types of films. Instead it's replaced with an element of mystery which does do a pretty good job of keeping you interested but very far away from being horrified.

The next thing I took issue with is despite the frequency of sex scenes, you never see any 18+ nudity - now I'm not saying that from the viewpoint of one who seeks out films filled with cheap pornographic material from plastic actresses. The camera work, lighting and makeup takes a very cinematic approach - the actresses are made to look like real people you could encounter in the street - they have laugh lines and blemishes, their makeup isn't always done and their hair doesn't always look perfect but yet they are quite attractive none the less. It all comes together to create a sense of realism that's quite submersible and effective. But watching numerous sex scenes unfold without seeing a bare behind or even a bare breast make an appearance but instead two people making love and staying unnaturally fully covered I found created contrast to the otherwise realistic and raw tone the rest of the film seemed to adhere to. In short it just seemed out of place and offbeat and gave the feeling of something being missing from the experience.

While the twist at the end was predictable and formulaic it didn't conclude the film in the exact way that I was expecting so i'll award half points for its conclusion. All in all I would certainly recommend that genre fans give it a watch - while it's not very scary it also doesn't rely on cheap jump scares and instead gives an honest effort towards creating a good atmospheric mystery with some horror elements and it's certainly worth your time.

This slow-burn possession horror film is a bit too slow in my opinion. I was completely engaged in the story and the characters up to a certain point, and I can appreciate that the love story is between two 30 something lesbians suffering typical Millennial problems of aimlessness or living with one's parents - there's a lot going on here which seems to be completely metaphorical.

Chana the mother character was amazing, the actress deserves some kind of award for how smoothly she pulled off her role in secrecy.

But ultimately by the last twenty minutes or so I really wanted to fast forward through the predictable climax.

Good lord that poor cat lady.

A horror film relying on Jewish folklore, religious allegories, and codependency that falls into a disappointing resolution. Attachment shows the beginning of the relationship between Maja and Leah after meeting in a library. Quickly they'll develop feelings but without knowing much of each others life. This sparks the tension in the couple after Leah suffered a seizure forcing them both to travel to London to Leah's mother house and Maja realizes that a secret is hold in between the walls. From the moment Leah returns home her mother insists in doing everything for her even when she's capable of doing it on her own.

Maja and Leah's mother Chana relationship starts with the wrong foot and Maja's efforts only pushes them further. Once the plot twist appears everything starts to make sense and their relationship can finally develop. Sadly, towards the end the film becomes another generic possession horror movie. What starts as a strong, original, captivating horror film turns into a disappointment in the third act. The acting, score, cinematography, and story converge on a satisfying exploration of family dynamics and superstitions. Unfortunately, the ending takes away from the excellence that the film presented at the beginning.