PYEWACKET CWC D: Adam MacDonald. Canada. 87 min. Sep 14, 9:45 pm, Scotiabank 13 Sep 16, 7 pm, Scotiabank 7. Rating: NNN
Writer/director MacDonald follows his Midnight Madness debut, Backcountry, with another study in gathering dread, this time told from the perspective of angry teen Leah (Nicole Muñoz), who lays a demonic curse on her mother (Laurie Holden) only to become convinced the curse is real and that something unholy is now stalking both of them in their rural home.
As in Backcountry, MacDonald lets his actors build credible, complex characters and sets them against each other. Both Leah and her mom have entirely valid reasons for behaving the way they do, even before the horror intrudes.
The very last scenes don’t quite land, as the movie abandons its slow burn for a chaotic finale. But right up until then, Pyewacket maintains an uneasy tension rooted in believable human frailty.
