The Moogai is a 2024 Australian horror film written and directed by Jon Bell, based on his 2020 short film of the same name. The film stars Shari Sebbens, Meyne Wyatt, Tessa Rose, Clarence Ryan, Toby Leonard Moore and Bella Heathcote.
| The Moogai | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jon Bell |
| Written by | Jon Bell |
| Produced by | Kristina Ceyton Samantha Jennings Mitchell Stanley |
| Starring | Shari Sebbens Meyne Wyatt Tessa Rose Clarence Ryan Toby Leonard Moore Bella Heathcote |
| Cinematography | Sean Ryan |
| Edited by | Simon Njoo |
| Music by | Steve Francis |
Production companies | Causeway Films No Coincidence Media |
| Distributed by | Maslow Entertainment Umbrella Entertainment Ahi Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2024, and was released in Australian cinemas on 31 October 2024.
Synopsis
editThe story is about a young Aboriginal mother who believes that her child is possessed, and includes Indigenous Australian themes related to the Stolen Generations (a government policy of forced removal of Aboriginal children from their parents) and The Dreaming.[1] Moogai is the Bundjalung word for "ghost".[2]
Cast
edit- Shari Sebbens as Sarah
- Meyne Wyatt as Fergus
- Tessa Rose as Ruth
- Clarence Ryan as Ray Boy
- Toby Leonard Moore as Dr. Barnes
- Bella Heathcote as Becky
- Christian Byers as Constable Flatley
- Alexandra Jensen as Miss Miller
Production
editBackground and short film
editJon Bell's short film of the same name won the Midnight Shorts Grand Jury Award at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, as well as Best Director at the 2021 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.[3] The short film is available in Australia on free streaming service SBS on Demand.[4]
Bell is a Wiradjuri / Bundjalung / Yaegl man, hence the choice of the title in the Bundjalung language, which means "bad spirit" somewhat like the "boogie man". He said about the short film that he intended it to illuminate the intergenerational trauma faced by Aboriginal Australians in particular mothers whose children were forcibly removed from them, creating the Stolen Generations.[5]
Feature film
editJohn Bell said that his (feature) film is "a love letter to the Aboriginal women in his family", acknowledging the way that Aboriginal women "have continued to create families and hold families together in the face of hundreds of years of genocidal practices and policies", referring specifically to the policies under which Aboriginal children were removed from their families. He says that the horror genre provided the ability for him to explore the impact of the removals, which he does by "repurposing" tropes of the genre, which provides the commentary.[6]
The Moogai was produced by Mitchell Stanley of No Coincidence Media, with Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings, of Causeway Films. South Australian special effects company KOJO Studios was responsible for the visual effects. Marty Pepper of KOJO, who served as, executive director, post-production, created a replica of the set at his own property in Willunga to create effects during post-production.[1]
Release
editThe film premiered in the Midnights section of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January.[3][7] It had its Australian premiere at the 2024 Sydney Film Festival in June, later screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival and 2024 CinefestOZ in Perth.[8]
The film was released in Australian cinemas by Maslow Entertainment, Umbrella Entertainment, and Ahi Films on 31 October 2024.[9][6]
Reception
editUpon the world premiere of the feature film at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the film received mixed reviews.[10][11] In his review for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico suggested that "tightening the effects" would help the film, and hoping that it would be further refined before its theatrical release.[12]
The film was more positively received by Australian reviewers and audiences upon its Australian premiere at the 2024 Sydney Film Festival, as it won the Audience Award for Best Australian Feature.[13]
After its cinema release, Sandra Hall of The Sydney Morning Herald gave it 3 out of 5 stars, writing that "Bell is a skilled and experienced screenwriter", but it "doesn't give the actors enough time or space to embellish their characters [enough]", and the film "isn't as scary as it's trying to be".[14]
Ali Alizadeh, a creative writing lecturer at Monash University, writing in The Conversation, praises Bell's talent, but felt that the film should have embraced more of the horror genre's "darker, more shocking aesthetics" rather than the greater focus on the thematic topics.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b Keen, Suzie (2 February 2024). "Made in SA: films and TV shows to watch out for in 2024". InReview. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "The Moogai (2020)". Letterboxd. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Program Guide". 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Watch The Moogai". SBS On Demand. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ Clarke, Bernadette (29 March 2021). "Indigenous director sheds light on intergenerational trauma in award-winning film 'The Moogai'". NITV. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ a b Bell, Jon (30 October 2024). "The Moogai by Jon Bell takes real-life fears for Aboriginal people and turns them into a horror film". ABC News (Interview). Interviewed by Bremer, Rudi. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Toth, Julianna (6 December 2023). "THE MOOGAI is headed to Sundance!". Umbrella Entertainment. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "The Moogai: Australian First Nations horror gets release date". ScreenHub Australia. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ Umbrella Entertainment [@UmbrellaEnt] (2 September 2024). "The official art and release date for THE MOOGAI has arrived" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 September 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Bradley, Laura (25 January 2024). ""The Moogai": The Terrifying Horror Movie That Could Be the Next 'Babadook'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "[Sundance 2024] THE MOOGAI -- Australian Horror May Be Fizzling Out". disappointment media. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ Tallerico, Brian (25 January 2024). "Sundance 2024: In a Violent Nature, The Moogai, Krazy House". rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "The winners of the 71st Sydney Film Festival". Sydney Film Festival. 16 June 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ Hall, Sandra (30 October 2024). "The Moogai film review: Indigenous thriller's child-stealing spirit conjures horrors of the Stolen Generation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Alizadeh, Ali (30 October 2024). "The Moogai could have been a powerful Indigenous horror film – but gets flattened by its own weight". The Conversation. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
Further reading
edit- Sebbens, Shari (30 October 2024). "Interview: Shari Sebbens on new horror film The Moogai and what it communicates about today's Indigenous experience; "Pay some respect to where you come from."". The AU Review (Interview). Interviewed by Gray, Peter.
External links
edit- The Moogai at IMDb
- The Moogai at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Moogai at Causeway Films