Film Review - Amulet (2020)

The latest familiar face from the small and big screen to venture behind the camera, Romola Garai has chosen a sinister, slow-burning horror for her feature debut. Full of interesting themes and with an unsettling atmosphere, it doesn’t always hit the spine-tingling target, but indicates the start of a whole new career.

Amulet begins with homeless former soldier Tomas (Alec Secareanu) losing his latest shelter when the derelict building he lives in is destroyed by fire. He’s discovered by nun, Sister Claire (Imelda Staunton), who offers him a place to stay: all he has to do in exchange are a few odd jobs around the house and help look after its residents, Magda (Carla Juri) and her elderly mother (Anah Ruddin), who has a terminal illness. Tomas agrees and, while Magda initially isn’t too keen on the new resident, the two grow closer, but it soon becomes clear that somebody, or something, more sinister is also living with them.

With themes such as abuse, cycles of violence, retribution and revenge running through it, Amulet certainly has a lot to say and gives the audience plenty to think about. A run-time of just under 100 minutes allows Garai the opportunity to take her time in building up the tension and that sense of gradual, creeping dread, but there are times when things move just too slowly. The first act takes too much time to get going and, as the film falls into similar traps along the way, by the time the climax arrives, it’s been too long coming, which takes some of the sting out of its impact. Unnerving it may be, the film’s pacing could easily alienate less patient audiences.

Despite its tendency to meander through the story, Amulet redresses the balance with style and strong visuals. Madga’s house reeks of a malevolence that’s down to more than shabby paintwork – you may not feel like going to the toilet for a while after the credits have rolled! – and there’s some attractive cinematography in the external scenes. And both Secareanu and Juri deliver powerful performances as people with pasts they would rather forget. Less convincing is the casting of Imelda Staunton: without giving too much away, there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to her brisk, down to earth nun and it’s obvious right from the start. This is no five minute appearance to add interest to the cast list.

Garai’s debut is ambitious, no doubt about it. While it’s a film with more hits than misses, its pacing is an issue but, for those who are prepared to invest the time, there’s an intelligent, gripping and edgy story – and an interesting new director – just waiting to be discovered.