Sundance Review: IN MY MOTHER’S SKIN is a dark horror film based on Filipino folklore

While at the Sundance Film Festival, I saw a crazy dark horror movie called In My mother’s skin. He told a rather disturbing story inspired by Filipino folklore. The Philippines is filled with all kinds of ancient lore, legends and nightmarish mythology. I’m surprised we don’t see horror movies tackling these stories because they’re fascinating and scary as hell.

Needless to say, I was excited to see that there was a Filipino horror film at Sundance this year and for me it did not disappoint! This was a solid movie that was filled with an intense slow burn building up to some horrific gore and a full gore ending. This story eats up the audience as it unfolds and when it’s over it stays with you.

The film is set in the Philippines in 1945 as World War II draws to a close. The story centers on a young girl and younger brother who are left at home with their sick mother while her father leaves to get help, as the Japanese are in the area looking for the gold they believe he stole. While they are struggling to live and survive, the daughter meets a sinister fairy who offers help in their dire situation. As you can imagine, after meeting the fairy, their nightmarish situation gets even worse.

The synopsis explains a wealthy family who live stranded in their country mansion and are harassed by occupying Japanese soldiers who are losing control of the island nation. “A rumor spread that the patriarch, Aldo, had stolen some Japanese gold and had hidden it somewhere nearby. Aldo knows his family will be slaughtered if they find the riches, so he runs off to ask the Americans for help. Soon they fear that he will never return as the disease takes its mother. Seeking help, their young daughter, Tala, mistakenly places her trust in a mesmerizing carnivorous fairy, who wishes to consume them all.

One of the highlights of the film is its young star Felicity Kyle Napuli, who plays the child Tala. The whole movie falls on her shoulders and this character’s performance would make or break the movie. Well, Felicity gave an outstanding performance! It’s not easy to carry a whole film with you, she was incredibly impressive! This girl is seriously talented and it would be wonderful to see her acting career take off.

The film was written and directed by Kenneth Dagatan and explains that the film “imbues this frightening tale with an intriguing mix of Catholicism and Filipino folklore to conjure a nightmarish vision of a war-torn land. The cast of Dagatan is fully committed to this dark fantasy, led by Felicity Kyle Napuli as our young heroine, and divine evil played by Curtis-Smith Jasmine. In my mother’s skin offers flawless craft, awesome special effects, and enough fly-covered oozing flesh to be permanently etched into your memory.

I agree 100% with this and this movie stuck in my head for a while after I saw it. The movie isn’t for everyone, but if you like slow burning horror movies that will disturb you, then this is for you!