MOTHERLY (REVIEW)

Dir. Craig David Wallace

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

For a parent, their worst fear is not for themselves but for their child and MOTHERLY cranks up the fear after the death of Mary (Kristen MacCulloch) and Lewis (Nick Smyth)'s daughter leads to a crazed decent of horror to find the truth.

Kate (Lora Burke) and Coutenay (Angel Gallego) lead an idyllic life in a suburban home but when that comfort is brutally invaded, the true night of fear unfolds as Mary and Lewis stage a home invasion to uncover what really led to the death of their daughter. Despite the innocence of Kate's appearances, through intense interrogation it is soon discovered all is not as it seems but just when the truth begins to unfold, there are curveballs and false scents placed throughout.

The movie meanders through plot points like a snake in the grass but in doing so keeps you guessing on where the film is going until it's shocking grandiose finale. For those looking for jump scares you'll be missing them here but instead is a psychological (and often physical) cat-and-mouse chase to unearth why their daughter died. There's plenty for horror fans to endeavour and MOTHERLY is a tense view from start to end. and you won't want a manicure for a long time after seeing this.

Lora Burke really is a shining star in a superb ensemble and she flits between loving mother to darkness really well. Yet here are two mothers on different sides of the coin showing how deep they will go for motherly love and that really is the message here. How far would you go and without sharing spoilers, it's difficult to say how well both performances are but it ties up the title of the film pretty nicely and the themes the film explored really do make MOTHERLY a must-watch.