A woman working with the local firefighters’ rescue team who is called to a retirement home due to the building being unstable and needing to be evacuated finds that the task will be much more complex than expected and that perhaps the evacuation is not why they were called there.
Written by Gabriela Capello, André Pereira, and Cristian Ponce with Ponce directing, A Mother’s Embrace is a horror film with mystery elements that plays off mostly as a drama until the last third or so. The story is one that moves at a calculated pace, making the film more of a slow burn than an edge-of-your-seat type of film. Here the writers take the time to establish the characters, especially the lead, giving her and the other characters personalities, careers, and that little extra that makes film characters more human. Here people are given the time to interact and care, time to be themselves and bring the story along with them. The writing is careful and precise while leaving some elements more to the imagination.
The cast here is absolutely solid and just right for the material. The lead here is played by Marjorie Estiano who grabs you, holds you close, and brings you into the story with her as the film moves forward. Her work here is lovely, emotionally driven, nuances, and natural. Watching her feels like it’s not a character on screen and that Ana is someone that the filmmakers have met and decided to film as she moves through a difficult situation with its emotions and its horror. She is the center of attention and she proves why she was chosen for the part over and over again. Joining her in giving great performances that drive the film forward with emotions and talent are Val Perré, Reynaldo Machado, Chandelly Braz, and Angela Rabello. This is one overall really strong cast with few exceptions.
The film here looks good and moody, giving the audience a bit of guidance through images and designs, giving viewers images that are both beautiful and creepy. Some here, someone had a true vision for this film and maintained it throughout while escalating the creepiness of everything as they went along. The locations, especially the retirement home, along with decor and set dressing are completely on point. This is how you build that uneasy feeling as a film moves forward in its story. This is how to build that odd creepy dread that isn’t quite fear but something is off, and it can be felt through the screen.
A Mother’s Embrace is a creepy film with great just about everything. The acting is just right from the leads, the writing and direction are on point, the decor, the images, the set-up, the location, everything comes together to create the right amount of creep factor and keep it building until the end when the finale is perhaps not entirely spelled out.