The Surrender review
A mostly engaging family drama/trauma horror mashup.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Surrender
Directed by Julia Max
Written by Julia Max
Starring Colby Minifie and Kate Burton
The Surrender Review
If you had familial trauma on your horror bingo board for The Surrender…well…so did everyone else. It’s practically the free space in the center at this point. As we’ve discussed before, trauma has been the backbone of many horror stories dating back to further back than the film era. Lately, however, horror has decided to really drill down on the concept. We are seeing more movies with family drama/trauma set as the core idea of the story than ever before. What used to be utilized as a quiet backstory for individual character arcs has suddenly, and too often, become the central force driving these stories. Bring Her Back is set to hit theaters this week. Like Shudder’s latest release The Surrender, Bring Her Back puts its familial trauma front and center. While The Surrender isn’t as successful in crafting a story around it…it does have some worthwhile ideas.
When her husband dies, Barbara (Kate Burton) turns to dark magic to bring him back. Their daughter Megan (Colby Minifie) is completely against the idea…but goes along for her mother’s sake. A man arrives to lead the ritual…an idea that becomes increasingly bad the more it appears to be working.
The Surrender opens with a shot of what appears to be a demon of some kind feasting on a dead body. This is the first sign that we are given that whatever they’re going to do in The Surrender is probably best left undone. Barbara and Megan don’t know this, of course. Grief believably clouds their poor judgment. Barbara is steadfast from the start. She set these plans in motion long before the day came. Megan is far more pragmatic about things. She only acquiesces at the idea that this is what her mother needs to deal with her grief. She doesn’t believe that it will actually work.
Megan doesn’t come to this conclusion on her own. Or…maybe she does. We see her having discussions with her father after he’s passed on…mostly about going through with the ritual for Barbara’s sake. You could normally dismiss this as the way a film chooses to visually represent internal turmoil. This is a supernatural movie though…so who knows how you’re meant to interpret it. Since Megan has these conversations but still thinks her mother’s beliefs are crazy…you can probably error on the side of internal conflict.
The Surrender is surprisingly funny at times. The bickering between mother and daughter in the first half of the movie is relatable and realistic. Minifie and Burton are terrific in their roles. Grief may have washed over them…but that doesn’t mean they have to stop taking little digs at each other where warranted. When Barabara fills Megan in on her plan…her daughter’s reaction is perfect. It’s insane…and it’s treated as such. Moments like this help The Surrender feel grounded before it takes off in a more supernatural direction.
The second half of The Surrender deals with the ritual. From the opening moments of the film…we know that it’s doomed. Whether it’s doomed to fail…or succeed is a different story. Barbara has put everything she has into bringing her husband back. Including their life savings. That makes the stakes for Megan much bigger than simply supporting her mother’s apparent delusions. Her inheritance has been sunk into something she doesn’t believe in…and no one has considered the consequences of if it somehow worked.
Horror elements in The Surrender are lighter than the family drama aspects of the story. It’s for the best. The trauma parts work better here…especially with the addition of horror imagery. It’s the dynamic between Barbara and Megan that makes the story work. As the ritual begins to show promise…the latter’s shifting beliefs gives The Surrender an interesting angle to play with. Minifie crushes the emotionally difficult part…keeping Megan’s journey engaging and exciting.
Trauma horror isn’t going anywhere. It’s always been a part of the deal. While modern films have embraced it as the centerpiece of their stories rather than character backgrounds. The good ones understand that the right way to do it involves having that trauma, now painted as a living entity occurring in real time, affect the characters in an equally vibrant way. The Surrender is a good one. It uses its trauma horror to change its characters. Megan’s story becomes the beating heart of The Surrender. Even after it manages to restart another one.
Scare Value
Shudder delivers another solid outing with The Surrender. It’s interesting, well-acted and (mostly) well-paced. The family trauma fares better than the horror elements…but the latter are a welcome addition to a worthwhile story. Shudder continues to crank out original releases worth your time…even if they aren’t hitting homeruns as often as they have in the past.
3/5
The Surrender Link
Streaming on Shudder
