One way or another, houses that have more than two or three bedrooms don’t have (spoiler) literal skeletons in the closet, but Brainstorm Media and Doppelganger Releasing’s writer-director Paris Zarcilla’s Raging Grace shows what life is like for an immigrant in the United Kingdom.
This shell-shocking film opens with a young single Filipino immigrant mother named Joy, played by Max Eigenmann, struggling to do her best to support her daughter, Grace (Jaeden Boadilla), living in London, England. Eventually, Joy lands an excellent, steady job caring for a wealthy but terminally ill elder while settling into her new position that pays well and provides a home for her and her daughter. Soon, Joy and Grace realize that everything is not as it seems. Something is festering beneath the surface, threatening all that Joy has worked for to raise her daughter.
Zarcilla brings empathic storytelling while throwing classic horror tropes, such as the occasional jump scares, which fit the story that Zarcilla has written and directed. The stylized artistic vision feels so much like a low-budget independent film but done well to still keep up with what is going on and what is happening.
Halfway through the first and second acts, the film addresses social commentary about the day-to-day problems that Joy faces as a Filipino immigrant and a woman, especially during the many interactions she encounters in the first act. The second act steers the exact play-by-play exchange between the woman who hires Joy as a housekeeper and caregiver. While several scenes later, the film resumes with another character who offers Joy compassion and empathy towards her and her daughter.
Paris Zarcilla’s Raging Grace brings an artistic style that steers audiences’ eyes to the narrative and the whole takeaway that Zarcilla expresses to the audience that will watch the film on December 1 in select theaters and On Demand on December 8.