HoopTober 8: Mosquito Takes Mandragon

Movie 17
1st of 4 folk horror films

Netflix horror movies generally get a bad rap but I have found the few I've seen to be fine, by and large - even those that folks seem to want to make out are a pile of crap. But I've noticed I tend not to watch many because I think my watchlist at this point is made up mostly of films I've heard good things about, and that's rare with Netflix films. So I was keen to get one at least on my HoopTober list.

The Old Ways is marketed pretty strongly as a folk horror film - I mean, look at that poster, is that not the fucking greatest? - and I suppose it definitely is. However, once you accept the setting and context as native Mexican shamanic ritual, this movie plays a lot more to the conventions of a traditional demonic possession film - a sub-genre I am a little less enamoured of, if I'm honest.

This is all well made, though. Well acted by a small cast, and wisely restricted to a very confined setting to allow what was probably a very low budget film look anything but. The cinematography, editing and sound are all excellent. But there's nothing especially exciting about the aesthetic here - it's nothing you wouldn't experience in a standard long-form TV show these days.

The story concerns Cristina (Brigitte Kali Canales), an American reporter who seems to have been searching for some kind of scoop in the backwaters of Veracruz State, which we later discover is where she was born. By the time we meet her, she is being held hostage by a couple of villagers, one of whom is clearly a witch. They believe she "has" something and go about curing her. What starts out as an abduction horror soon moves into possession territory as it becomes clear to everyone - even Cristina - that there is something badly wrong with her.

The film recycles a few James Wan tricks from the Conjuring and Annabelle films in terms of scares and set pieces, but they are done reasonably well. Although the actors all acquit themselves very well, the characters are less than riveting, and so the entire film being set in a room with just a few of them does start to chafe a bit by the end.

This is OK - recommended more to demonic possession film fans than folk horror fans.