SHU Film Soc Reviews: Amulet + Q&A
Celluloid Screams, locally based horror film programmers, took over screen three of the Showroom on Jan 26 to feed a thirsty audience a preview of Amulet, along with a live Q&A session with writer-director, Romola Garai.
The main draw of the event was of course the film. It focuses on Tomaz (Alec Secareanu), a veteran of an unspecified conflict who, now homeless under the bright lights of London, makes do as a day labourer. Following the burning of the building that houses Tomaz and a collective of other refugees, he’s fatefully matched with Magda (Carla Juri), a carer who takes in our protagonist as an ‘extra pair of hands’ to aid with the day-to-day while she tends to her ill mother (Annah Rudin).
As is to be expected with the horror genre, it’s not all plain sailing. And the surprises endure throughout the film, as several late-stage revelations demand the audience reassess all that’s come before.
The event was rounded off with an insightful Q&A session, which added immense value to what was already an effective and engaging horror feature. When asked about influences on her debut feature film, Romola Garai happily fired back immediately with anecdotes of her and cinematographer Laura Bellingham’s efforts in pinning down its spiritual roots, pointing specifically to both Possession (d. Andrzej Żuławski, 1981) and Hellraiser (d. Cliver Barker, 1987).
Taking visual cues from both - namely the relationship horror from the former and the ‘terrible place’ location from the latter - Amulet is a film that wears its influences on its sleeve while adding its own twists.
Amulet could be labelled as something from the school of “elevated horror”; a peer of something such as The Babadook (d. Jennifer Kent, 2014). It is allegorical and thought-provoking enough to ensure it will be a topic of discussion years from now. There are also elements of body horror. Garai’s film nears Cronenberg levels on the ‘squirm-factor’ scale.
In her Q&A, Romola Garai spoke about the free and unshackled collaboration that resulted in the grizzly creatures. The results of this are images that last long in the memory after the credits fade, though I’ll keep the finer details on those to a minimum, so the visceral punch isn’t dulled.
The unsettling atmosphere of the film is augmented by the standout score, composed by Sarah Angliss in what she called a “symbiotic” collaboration with the sound department. It features a strong use of sampling and makes use of its composer’s aptitude at various instruments, including ones she invented herself. It changes pace at a frightening speed and varies to suit character and setting.
Amulet was more than four years in the making and is now finally able to grace the big screen after being initially hampered by the pandemic in early 2020. The film and its live Q&A made for an evening well spent with one of the most memorable offerings within the horror genre in recent years.
