A family comes in contact with a faith shaking entity while doing missionary work in rural Ecuador. A local Shaman’s involvement keeps them guessing while they confront pure evil.
Shaman is a fresh entry in the world of possession horror. Stepping away from small towns, urban environments, and cabins buried deep within the woods, Shaman brings the audience to a small village near a volcano in a remote location within Ecuador. We follow two missionaries, Candice and Joel, with their son, Elliot, as they work to introduce their religion to the isolated locals. They’ve been welcomed, integrated into the community, and have even built a church for their newly converted followers. However, after Elliot wanders into a cave that the locals refuse to enter, the family find themselves worrying less about teaching the locals, and more about saving their son from a sinister force that has taken him.
The film is Antonio Negret’s first directorial film since 2017’s Overdrive. His portfolio includes work with various CW DC shows, The Lincoln Lawyer, and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. With minimal experience in the world of horror, he still delivers a film worthy of the genre with solid pacing and an ending that feels about as grounded as possible. The grim and thought provoking folk-horror is written by his brother, Daniel Negret. This is Daniel’s first film script, but he’s no stranger to horror as he’s produced such hits as Possessor and Talk to Me. Their combined effort brought forth a film that I would consider a solid contender for “entry level horror” despite its R rating. My mother introduced me to such films as The Evil Dead and Puppet Master at a rather young age, and with only one steamy moment to be aware of, there’s nothing too violent, gory, or beyond explaining for a newcomer to the genre. In another life, I could see Shaman as one of my first thought-provoking takes on the possession trope.
The family tormented by the film’s mysterious entity are portrayed by Sara Canning, Daniel Gillies, and Jett Klyne as Candice, Joel and Elliot respectively. Sara’s portrayal of a modern missionary mother who spirals downward in a morally challenging situation is rock solid. The woman she is at the start of the film, and the woman she is by the end, are two drastically different people and her transition feels natural. Shaman joins the likes of The Banana Splits Movie and Creepshow in Canning’s horror history. Daniel Gillies’ work as Joel, a former heroin user and born again man of faith, invokes a feeling of empathy. He’s clearly full of good intentions and caught in a situation that mocks his dark past while taking any sort of power he may have away from him. Gilles is also familiar with horror, coming from such things as 2007’s Masters of Horror and The Vampire Diaries. Personally, I remember him as J. Jonah Jameson’s Astronaut son from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. Speaking of Marvel and Sam Raimi, fans watching Shaman might recognize Jett Klyne from Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness, or WandaVision, as Wanda’s son and Young Avenger alumni… Speed. Horror fans may recognize him as the child actor in such projects Puppet Killer and Z. From angsty teen to aggressive vessel of unknown evil, Jett brings a lot of appropriate energy to his character in Shaman.
As the family struggles to figure out why their son is sleepwalking, heating up, and even vomiting up an occasional batch of teeth, the locals divide their approach to taking care of him. Those living within the village insist that they practice what they preach, and put the wellbeing of everyone in the hands of God. Those outside the village, such as the titular Shaman, have a different, potentially sinister, approach to the events. They claim that what plagues the child is older than the family’s God, and that their faith has no power over the outcome. The Shaman is portrayed by Humberto Morales. It’s his first role aside from being an extra in 2011’s All Your Dead Ones and he brings a stoic energy to the role that keeps the audience guessing until a narrative reveal paints a full picture.
For anyone looking to scratch the “Exorcist” itch in an exotic locale can look forward to Well Go USA releasing Shaman on Blu-Ray and DVD exclusively through Amazon on October 7th.