Over the years, I’ve discovered that my favorite kind of horror movie is the kind where it feels realistic, and by realistic, I mean within context of the story we’re given. On top of that, it needs to feel real within: obvious special effects don’t work for me, and cheese-tastic/campy horror has never been my wheelhouse. I want the kind of horror that makes me think twice before going into the woods alone, that make my eyes prick with tears because it reaches through the screen and just grabs me. Like most horror fans, I want the story I’m consuming to touch something within, to make me really feel a fear that I couldn’t in the real world.
But most importantly, I want that gray area where we just aren’t sure if what’s happening is real or in someone else’s head.
My husband and I found Pyewacket while browsing through the movies app on our Apple TV. Neither of us had heard of it, but we clicked the trailer and quickly became engrossed. We also recognized the two lead actresses (Defiance’s Nicole Muñoz as the moody teenaged daughter of The Walking Dead’s Laurie Holden), so we decided to go ahead and rent it.
We ended up watching it twice.
I’m not going to spoil anything beyond what you see in the trailer, which is below. The story is at it appears: mother and daughter are dealing with the fallout of the death of the husband/father. For Muñoz’s Leah, it’s delving into the occult, listening to metal, and reading horror novels (I admit, the stereotype here bugs me). For Holden’s unnamed mother, it’s drinking wine and lashing out at her daughter before deciding to uproot their lives to a new home.
This movie hits all of my reality requirements. Despite being 23 years old, Muñoz is incredibly realistic as a moody, intense teenager. She is incredibly expressive, and I swear, you can tell exactly what she’s feeling and thinking just by looking into her eyes in any given scene. She’s wonderful. And Holden’s mom isn’t quite the “evil mom” caricature I thought she’d be from the trailer: she’s got layers, and she’s not mad all the time, which makes the tension of the movie even higher. More to the point, it’s Holden’s character that really makes the reader start questioning what they think they know.
What special effects are here are just right: they filled me with the kind of dread that had me hesitating while moving through my own home late at night in the dark. But even better was just how everything unfolded, and how Leah’s summoning really looked like something someone would and could do. Again, no special effects: everything just looks legit.
Relatively unique to this movie is that the two leads are women, and by and large, it passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. The supporting cast of Leah’s friends are great too, and the scenes with Leah and her friend Janice are some my favorites in the movie.
Pyewacket is a quiet, tense horror movie that has a simple story but does that story really, really well. Like I said above, my husband and I watched it twice, and we’re now seeking out the director’s other work.
Have you seen Pyewacket? Comment below and share your thoughts! I’m dying to debate (and spoil) the ending in the comments!
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