‘Godmother’ Review: Familiar Horror Delivered In a Twisty, Freaky Package [Fantastic Fest]

There’s nothing quite like a contemporary horror movie that uses horror tropes so well it almost reinvents them. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially when it feels like there are more movies than ever out there trying to rewrite what we all know about the genre. But every once in a while, a film comes around that does just that—and John Veron’s Godmother has entered that pantheon of films. This desert-set folk horror nightmare may go to familiar places, but Veron and co-writer Alanah Pearce craft a script that never shows its hand until the perfect moment. 

Theo (Paige Evans) and Colby (Cameron Cuffe) are a picture-perfect couple heading on a beautiful, romantic weekend getaway in the desert. But there’s just one tiny catch. Theo has invited her free-spirited older sister, Katie (Riley Dandy), to join the party. Colby is mad, Theo is excited, and Katie is ready to start some trouble. To top it all off, their rental hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Martinson (Bruce Davison and Dee Wallace, respectively), are just a little too kind and accommodating.

But that doesn’t stop the good vibes, at least at first. Katie makes cocktails, blasts music, and even invites some strangers over to party. The more Katie pushes, the angrier Colby gets. It all builds and builds to a second and third act that go from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye. Glistening sand is stained red, and malicious intentions are revealed around every shadowy corner. 

The ending is something we’ve seen countless times, and Veron and Pearce know that. That’s why the film opens with our hosts committing evil acts. There’s no doubt that whatever is going to happen at this house is bad, and the people who own the house have dastardly intentions. By establishing that baseline right out of the gate, Veron and Pearce immediately set expectations that Godmother isn’t playing by typical horror rules. It’s an experiment in warping audience perception of what’s happening, keeping even the sharpest-eyed horror fans guessing.

Veron has said in Q&As that Pearce’s help with writing the script was instrumental in shaping the film into what was on screen. Apparently, when she first read the script, she said that the team needed a woman to help write it because, despite being a film about female relationships and experiences, it was being made by entirely men. And to Veron’s credit, he agreed and brought her on to help make the film what it is today. Other (read: most) men in the industry would do well to take note of that! Pearce’s influence is felt on screen, from the sisterhood between Theo and Katie to the specific revelations at the end of the film. There’s just a more realistic look at women, sisterhood, and bodily autonomy that comes from lived experience versus perceived experience.