Amulet (film)
Amulet is a 2020 British horror film written and directed by Romola Garai and starring Carla Juri, Imelda Staunton and Alec Secareanu. It premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on 24 July 2020.
| Amulet | |
|---|---|
 Official promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Romola Garai |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Romola Garai |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Sarah Angliss |
| Cinematography | Laura Bellingham |
| Edited by | Alastair Reid |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Magnolia Pictures |
Release date | |
Running time | 99 minutes[3] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Premise
A homeless ex-soldier in London is offered a place to stay at a decaying house, inhabited by a young woman and her dying mother, and begins to suspect something unnatural is living there, too.
Plot summary
The film begins with the ex-soldier, Tomaz, unearthing an amulet at an outpost in the woods. It becomes apparent that this is where he was stationed in his former country, which he eventually escaped to make it to London. Tomaz periodically has flashbacks to this time and Mirian, a woman who took shelter with him after he spared her life when he caught her trying to pass the border.
In London Tomaz works as a day laborer while sleeping in a derelict building with other refugees. When the building is set on fire, Tomaz is forced to flee suddenly in the night. Unable to breathe from the smoke, he collapses in an alley way and is discovered by a nun. After visiting him in the hospital she suggests a better way of life for him and takes him to a house, explaining that a woman living there, Magda, needs help with the house upkeep as she cares for her dying mother. As she walks away, she is seen throwing Tomaz's money (which he thought lost) into the sewer.
Magda makes it clear she doesn't want Tomaz there and he too is reluctant to stay. However the two grow accustomed to one another and Tomaz tries to perform repairs. When trying to fix the water pipes Tomaz discovers a live bat clogging the toilet. He kills it, but not before it bites him.
Tomaz eventually sees Magda's mother, whom she keeps imprisoned in the attic. Though she is extremely ill she attacks Magda in front of Tomaz and he becomes protective of her. He takes her out on the town, fulfilling her wish to go out dancing all night if she was free.
Later on, returning home Magda and Tomaz see her mother giving birth to one of the bat like creatures he sees on the toilet. Tomaz goes to consult Sister Claire, and she tells him that the mother is a demon and Magda and her have been charged with keeping it contained for years. Tomaz returns to the house, determined to kill the demon and save Magda. However after stabbing the demon in the throat it bites and attacks Tomaz only to be stopped by Magda.
Tomaz then flashes back to his time with Miriam. Developing a crush on her he urges her to stay with him until the end of the war and protects her from fellow soldiers. However after discovering her trying to leave in an attempt to reunite with her daughter, he hunts her down and rapes her.
Awakening in the house, Tomaz, determined to protect Magda, returns and attacks the demon. Once he beheads it he realizes that the host body was actually that of the previous occupant of the house, a man who murdered his children. Sister Claire explains that he is now the new host and asks him who he wants to be his guardian. He demands that Magda watch over him. Later, Tomaz is sick. As his stomach begins to move, he too gives birth to one of the creatures.
Later, Magda drives up to a convenience store where Miriam is working the counter. After making sure that Miriam is alright she drives off and throws some food in the back where Tomaz is hiding under a blanket.
Cast
- Carla Juri as Magda
- Alec Secareanu as Tomaz
- Angeliki Papoulia as Miriam
- Imelda Staunton as Sister Claire
- Anah Ruddin as Mother
Production
The film was announced in April 2018, along with the cast. Production began in Autumn 2018, with the original title of Outside.[4] Matthew James Wilkinson, the film's producer, called it "feminist horror" and that Garai "definitely wanted to take a look at what is happening in terms of recent gender politics and stand it on its head."[5]
Release
Amulet premiered in the Midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2020, and will be released in the United States on 24 July 2020 in limited theaters and on-demand by Magnolia Pictures' horror department, Magnet Releasing.[6]
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 69% based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 6.29/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "If its chilly sense of dread never quite becomes spine-tingling terror, Amulet remains smart, solidly disquieting fun for genre fans seeking slow-building horror."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "smart and stylish" and wrote: "Garai steadily builds suspense while keeping her intentions enigmatic until quite late in the action. She eventually folds together mysteries of the past with terrors of the present in an out-there final act that goes full-throttle Dario Argento, mixing digital and hand-made effects in a sea of garish reds and bizarre pagan visions."[6] Justin Chang of Fresh Air called the film an "intensely creepy supernatural freakout" and praised the "strikingly assured" writing and direction of Garai.[9]
References
- "Sundance 2020 Women Directors: Meet Romola Garai – "Amulet"". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- "Film News Roundup: Sundance Horror Movie 'Amulet' Bought By Magnet for July Release". 29 April 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- "Amulet (2020) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- Wiseman, Andreas (2018-04-18). "Romola Garai Directorial Debut 'Outside' To Star Carla Juri, Imelda Staunton, Alec Secareanu". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
- "'Yesterday' Producer on New Comedy 'Bagnold Summer' and His Next Projects". Variety. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- David Rooney (June 1, 2020). "'Amulet': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- "Amulet (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- "Amulet Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- "Terrific New Thrillers 'Amulet' And 'Relic' Explore Terrors Lurking Within The Home". NPR.org. 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-07-24.