Frewaka

The mood was set: dreary skies, some new black metal releases (Kommodus, Blood Abscission, Flaming Ouroboros, Blutschwur) providing the soundtrack to a gnawing craving for something dark and unsettling. Fréwaka slid right into that space like a cold blade, and yeah, it was a good call - it delivered.

Aislinn Clarke's the real deal, right? "The Devil's Doorway" was a decent found-footage attempt with its take on the Magdalen Laundries. I was hyped for "Fréwaka," and honestly, she's one-upped herself. This one hits harder than that feature film. Again, she's back with something even heavier-digging into buried history and the wounded past like it's cursed ground that still feels raw.

The two leads, Catherine Monnelly and Bríd Ní Neachtain, are quietly phenomenal, playing women tangled in their own trauma, stuck in this eerie, ancient-feeling Irish village. The film's steeped in something ancient, almost primal energy right from the start. Even the OG Irish title, Fréamhacha ("roots"), gives a nod to a story that feels like something old creeping into the present. The story mainly follows Shoo (Monnelly), a palliative nurse, who arrives to care for Peig (Ní Neachtain), who's battling agoraphobia and dementia. And to push the narrative, we have this mix of pagan dread and Christian imagery which doesn't scream or feel preachy; it's just there. They seep together, superstition bleeding into the mundane. I loved the gender dynamics here - men as the creepy ritualists, women as the leads? Yeah, that hits different.

Now, Fréwaka isn't flawless; that doesn't mean it's bad, though. It succeeds with its horror tropes popping up, playing with the usual suspects (that red door, the horseshoe, the Virgin Mary statue glowing like something's very wrong-those shots stuck with me). I even thought of some shots from "Litan (1982)" and "The Other Side of the Underneath (1972)" - check out my reviews if you haven't seen 'em. Also, The Wicker Man parallels are obvious, and yeah, there's some A24 flavor in the slow, atmospheric dread (plus, that goat in full regalia staring into your soul and at our lady).

It wasn't as bloody and gory as I expected, but it was intriguing and kept me hooked. Just wish the ending hadn't felt so rushed, and the credits sequence felt kinda tacked on. Even the soundtrack, which was mostly good, could've gone darker, weirder with some more experimental touches instead of playing it safe.

In closing, Clarke's sticking to her themes from her first film, carving out her own lane in folklore horror, digging into the same raw, historical wounds as before, and doing what it sets out to do. She's for sure an important voice in horror right now. I'd say genre fans should definitely check this one out. Also, I'd recommend you check out The Devil's Bath (2024) - might make for a good double bill. Despite a few little stumbles in both, they'll probably do it for you.

I recently watched the Irish film 🇮🇪 Frewaka (2024) on Shudder. The story follows a woman trying to balance a new job as a caretaker, a budding relationship, and haunting flashbacks from a troubled past. As the visions intensify, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from memory-or perhaps imagination-as her two worlds begin to blur.

Written and directed by Aislinn Clarke (The Devil's Doorway), the film stars Clare Barrett (Sacrifice), Tara Breathnach (Dune: Part II), Grace Collender (Blackshore), and Dorothy Duffy (The Magdalene Sisters).

I had mixed feelings by the end. While the film is a slow burn, the caretaker role and domestic dynamics are well developed. The performances are authentic and emotionally resonant, effectively conveying the protagonist's mental strain. The house itself provides a mysterious, unsettling backdrop, and the cinematography enhances the psychological tension with subtle visual cues that blur the lines between reality and delusion.

That said, I found myself wanting more from the narrative. The film builds to a strong twist, but I felt it could have been pushed further to deliver a more lasting impact.

In conclusion, Frewaka has enough well-executed elements to maintain your attention, but it ultimately falls short of its full potential. I'd give it a 6/10.

Fréwaka: Bleak Irish Folk Horror involving Fairy abductions, these Fairies however are very much of the Pagan variety and the film has a touch of The Wicker Man about it. In a prologue set in 1973, Mummers wearing straw masks crash Peig's wedding, they bring a goat with .them. Peig goes outside and disappears, her husband Daithi just sees a goat. Dearg Doom by Horslips is playing in the background. 99% of the dialogue in this film is as Gaeilge (in Irish). The present day, we see a woman commit suicide, to be found weeks later. Her estranged daughter Shoo turns up with her pregnant partner Mila, to clear out the apartment. Shoo is called away to care for a now invalid and isolated Peig, locals are reluctant to visit or deliver goods to her. Shoo has to force entry and finds the house filled with metal objects, salt and urine to keep the Fairies out. The cellar door has a horseshoe and other iron pieces attached. Peig believes that she was taken by the Fairies to another house underneath her own and Daithi made a deal to get her back and then committed suicide. Most of the locals are standoffish but one tells Shoo that Peig was in an asylum or Magdalene Laundry. The house itself is a character. A minor stately home, although its furnishings e.g. Stuffed animals would be more typical if those from an ascendency background, neither Peig or Daithi seem o fit that mould. It is large and rambing with the ever present cellar door providing both an attraction and a danger. A visitor might be a Fairy, at least Peig thinks so. Most of the horror here is psychological, it is suggested rather than shown except when Peig and Shoo reveal their scars (both physical and mental) to each other. There are some violent scenes though. Shoo's relationship with Mila also becomes strained. There is a question about how much that Shoo observes is real and we have reason to question it. Goats are a constant motif as is a strange boy, along with Catholic religious imagery and statuettes.. All of the threads eventually tie together suggesting to me at least that there is an occult explanation for the events. As well as Horslips, Die Hexen provides a haunting score. I thought Horslips' version of King of the Fairies would have fitted better than Dearg Doom but everyone's a critic these days. Written and directed by Aislinn Clarke. 8/10.

Director Aislinn Clarke offers a interesting Irish horror folklore with some interesting sophisticated horror choices on the direction, writing and atmosphere throughout. Irish horror folklore isn't discussed much and it's interesting to see how filmmakers are approaching the atmosphere and tone when it comes to Irish folklore.

Placed with beautiful camerawork and sound designs, the atmosphere and setting does apply a good strong presence of the creepy vibe and feel to it. Alongside with a great musical score and a good strong lead performance from Claire Monnelly. Clarke understands the haunting and creepy environment to allow the viewers to get drawn in, and establishing what is happening to make it go under your skin.

Now I do appreciate the new concept of the horror that explores. However, I won't call it masterful since some of the writing could be improved, especially when it came to the familiar structure and character engagement as the characters didn't feel really that interesting nor connectable. And with the concept, it does feel like a concept that has been done a bit too many times.

Overall, it's a solid horror folklore tale.

Called away to a remote village, a care worker tasked with looking after a dementia-riddled patient in a remote village comes to suspect something more sinister is going on with her repeated claims of something living in the house that soon proves more deadly than she expected.

Overall, this was a rather fun and likeably chilling slow-burn folk horror effort. Among the better features to be had here is the immensely chilling setup that manages to touch incredibly well on the nature of guilt and loss. The main setup to bring them together involving the need to offer her care in her home in the remote village and bringing about the slow discovery of the terrifying instances within the house that aren't just related to the dementia prognosis she's there to treat makes everything rather straightforward with how it reveals everything going forward. With the revelations about what's happened to her over the years from the others in the village who know about what happened to her and what it meant that led to her current condition which points direct fingers at the oppression inflicted by the Church at women years ago, there's a great base here involving the traumatic past coming back to haunt someone at the present. This is all nicely tied together to the concurrency backstory involving the growing sense of unease that comes about with how the connection to the workers' traumatic past comes into play. Realizing that the entire episode is a means of allowing her to come to gripes with the inappropriate manner in how her relationship with her mother hindered her in the latest stage in her life before her life, the connection allows her to explore the stories being told to her which brings about the discovery of the initial incident that occurred decades ago that left the woman in her care the wreck that she is. Although this leads to an immensely chilling and creepy setup, there's far too much going on before this is accomplished, which leaves the film rather one-sided, as the first half builds everything up with little to no payoff. The film is a bit blander than its setup warrants, with very little happening to denote overt and obvious instances of something happening due to the more subtle nature showcased. It's not detrimental, but it does bring it down slightly.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.