Mother Land: a solid and effective B series (review)
A survival film by Alexandre Aja with Halle Berry always on top form.
There is something fascinating and paradoxical about Alexandre Aja’s filmography: in the twenty-five years he has been making films, his films have always had both the enthusiastic and awkward feeling of first times, and the sureness due to the experience of the passionate craftsman. No artist is forced to change or to upheaval; on the contrary, it is almost reassuring to know that Aja makes his films with skill but above all the pleasure of a horror fan who has just been given the keys to his first feature film.
Mother Land is therefore first of all a good concept film, the kind you make to get noticed, or, better, to give yourself a style. We are in a shack lost in a forest southern gothic where horrible satanic spirits roam. To protect her two children (Anthony B. Jenkins and Percy Daggs IV, two small revelations), a woman (Halle Berry, always at the top) can only leave the house in “sacred wood” once she is connected to it with a strong rope…
It’s a survival film, which looks a lot like a B-version of Village : like Shyamalan’s great film, Mother Land feeds from the same source (The Fourth Dimension and its moral tales soaked in fantasy), but rather seeks the pleasure of the B series… until the moment when it cracks, and takes unexpected and delightful detours. Add to that formidable creatures and a great score by Rob, and you have a film that is truly as successful as a good first film.
Of Alexandre Aja. With Halle Berry, Anthony B. Jenkins, Percy Daggs IV… Duration 1h41. Released on September 25, 2024
