RAGING GRACE
Starring: Leanne Best, Jaeden Paige Boadilla, Max Eigenmann, and David Hayman
Director: Paris Zarcilla
This film has been reviewed by Quentin and Paige as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival.
QUENTIN
Raging Grace does several things very well. The acting is solid, the score is one of the best horror scores I’ve heard in quite some time, and an overbearing feeling of dread permeates the viewing experience as you’re constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. That said, once it dropped, so did my general interest as major reveals land with more of an “oh” than an “oh!” Also, writer-director Paris Zarcilla clearly wants to talk about social inequalities (it’s often reminiscent of Parasite), but those themes aren’t fleshed out terribly well. It’s not a total dud, but I didn’t love it either.
PAIGE
Raging Grace showcases the hardships and struggles one may face due to immigration and colonialism. While the film is categorized as horror, I personally think it plays more like an atmospheric mystery movie. With that in mind, one of the major things this Fantasia offering has going for it is its score, which enhances the ominous tone that lingers throughout. That said, there needed to be way more rage from Grace for this film to be titled Raging Grace.