Written and directed by Jon Bell based on his 2020 short film of the same name.
The Australian Causeway Films-No Coincidence Media production stars Shari Sebbens, Tessa Rose, Meyne Wyatt, Clarence Ryan, Bella Heathcote and Jahdeana Mary.
Plot:
Sarah and Fergus, a hopeful young Aboriginal couple, give birth to their second baby. But what should be a joyous time of their lives becomes sinister when Sarah starts seeing a malevolent spirit she is convinced is trying to take her baby. Fergus, who can’t see it but desperately wants to believe her, grows increasingly worried as she becomes more unbalanced. Is the child-stealing spirit real or is she the biggest threat to the safety of their family?
Reviews:
“The Moogai is a cartoonishly dramatic horror story about the importance of listening to women, especially in the wake of a life-threatening pregnancy and other forms of remaining trauma. However, the real disappointment is that the story isn’t concerned with taking advantage of any cultural specificity there is to bring to the tale. Ruth occasionally attempts a ritual, but like everything else, those sequences feel hollow.” ★½ Flickering Myth
“The Moogai emerges from the shadows only in the final act. The creature design is physically imposing and convincingly abhorrent, though while Bell throws in circles of fire and a mass of writhing snakes, the ending is short on power. The director wisely limits the use of jump scares and other standard tropes, but there’s a lack of command in what should be a pulse-pounding battle between the women and the beast attempting to take Jacob from them.” The Hollywood Reporter
“Bell obviously has a lot of ideas on his mind, and he ably trojan horses the history of Aboriginal stolen children into the skin of a horror film. But I often found myself wishing that the surface details and genre requirements — the jump scares, the plotting, etc. — were as thought through as the meaning behind them. [C+], The Playlist
” …when it is finally coaxed into the open, the moogai (played with athletic physicality by Paul Chambers) reveals itself to be a lacklustre patchwork of other movie monsters. Similarly, while The Moogai may have its roots in Australia’s Indigenous trauma, and tells a story which needs to be heard, it is ultimately undercut by the weight of its own earnest message.” Screen Daily
YouTube reviews:
Clip:
Technical specs:
1 hour 26 minutes
