Maori folk-ish but mostly gothic horror with so much hard contrast and classic imagery I half expected a vampire twist. Great performance by the lead. Some very good scenes. Great atmosphere and overall good exposition. A little uneven but well worth a watch.

Brilliant 👏 👏. been wanting to watch this for awhile. suspenseful, mysterious, shocking, disturbing and macabre; everything i love in a horror/movie. The main character is believable and an awesome actress. As a māori from NZ and being aware of her family, I am not surprised of the talent she possesses.

Wow, what an experience. This movie has been sitting in my head ever since I watched it, and I can’t really shake it off. I went in not expecting anything at all, and what I got was phenomenal. It blends history, culture, and horror in a way that feels natural, not forced, and somehow manages to be both a period piece and completely modern at the same time. The colonial themes hit hard, but the film never feels like it’s lecturing you. It simply tells a rough, harrowing story and lets it speak for itself. The lead performance is incredible and carries much of the film. Combined with the gothic atmosphere, the imagery, and the constant sense that something is deeply wrong, it creates a mood that stayed with me long after the credits rolled. Not everything is easy to watch, which is exactly why it worked for me. Powerful, brutal, sad, and horrifying. It’s one of those films that makes you immediately want to tell people about it afterwards. Seriously, watch it!

A half Maori woman goes to England after a letter talking about her family history. But on arrival the guy is dead, and his boss welcomes her. We then slowly learn some indeed dark family secrets. But who is Thomas Boyd actually ? Is he a guy we see killed in a flashback ? Why would he write to her and make her come? Was it real and [spoiler]Cole killed him for that[/spoiler] ? Was he collaborating? Was [spoiler]Cole the one that actually made her come[/spoiler] ? Because if Thomas wanted to help, why make her come all the way like this and put her in danger? The actual events are a bit confusing. [spoiler]He is her father, and had Anne with her sister, who was already his daughter. But did he start even before ? Is he also her grandfather ? It's not clear whether her mother was also his daughter. Not sure the ages match for that.[/spoiler] Also how insane was the guy ? He expected her to nicely obey when he showed her what he did to [spoiler]three generations of her family[/spoiler] ? Another weird scene, what does she actually learn at the asylum ? [spoiler]Clearly the guy recognizes her, but what does he tell her ? Nothing ? It's cut to kinda make us think the sister is still there, but we know she is already dead. So does she learns there she is really dead ?[/spoiler] This whole part is a bit weird. Some bits of Maori culture, some nice costumes. Story is a bit thin for the duration, leading to a lot of moments where she knows something is wrong, or even already knows the actual facts, and just does nothing, it is a bit strange. It feels a bit too long. Nice and brutal ending, [spoiler]first psychologically for her, the embalmed head is pretty ducked up, then physically for him, that was pretty satisfying[/spoiler]. However not quite sure how in these days a woman would [spoiler]travel by herself, or with a kid, to the other side of the world, literally, while bringing three severed heads with her[/spoiler]. Well, no airport security, maybe it was actually easier? Interesting enough.

This has some seriously beautiful cinematography.