Released: December 2017
Director: Adam MacDonald
Screenplay: Adam MacDonald
Tagline: "Be careful what you wish for. Someone might be listening"
Cast:
Nicole Munoz as Leah Reyes
Laurie Holden as Mrs. Reyes
Chloe Rose as Janice
Eric Osborne as Aaron
James McGowan as Rowan
Leah Reyes is dragged to a new home an hour away from her school and her friends by her mother, who hopes that the change of scene will be what they both need in order to recover from the devastating loss of Leah's father. Leah, however, is more interested in exploring her new fascination with the occult. After a brutal argument with her mother, Leah resolves to summon the demon Pyewacket in the hopes of dispatching her mother once and for all.
Pyewacket is a film that keeps you guessing, and is careful never to reveal the truth behind what may or may not be happening in the new Reyes household. At first, the viewer is grounded firmly with Leah, and we experience what she experiences. But as the film progresses, it becomes clear that Leah is an unreliable witness. MacDonald plays with this narrative device, using the certainty to increase mood and tension. Even when it seems that something otherworldly is revealing itself, the scenes are played in shadow, forcing the audience to rely on their imagination to fill in the gaps. This is a far more terrifying result than any low-budget CGI creature could ever hope to achieve.
Lazy jump-scares are absent from this film, as MacDonald is all about teasing, delaying, and slipping in narrative turns that surprise the viewer and force us to guess at the legitimacy of what we're seeing and how that will affect what happens next. Did Leah's ritual work? Is she imagining an invisible entity as an embodiment of her anguish, and specifically her guilt over what she may have brought into the world? They're tough questions, and the film doesn't give up answers easily, but for those viewers willing to put in a little work, the payoff is returned tenfold.
Munoz is excellent as Leah, especially as she grows increasingly unhinged while waiting for the demon to appear and trying to find a way to undo what she's done. Holden also delivers and manages to communicate complexity in a role that frequently calls for her to be cruel. There's a slight misstep in including an occult novelist character whose thread doesn't really lead anywhere by the film's conclusion, but other than that there isn't much that misdirects this film. Great use of sound, gauzy visuals, and the eerie uncertainly surrounding Pyewacket all mix to produce a tense, highly sensory viewing experience that strives to push horror viewers towards our favorite place to be: the edge of our seats.
Pyewacket
5 - Totally Terrifying
4 - Crazy Creepy
3 - Fairly Frightening
2 - Slightly Scary
1 - Hardly Horror
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