The Father’s Shadow is a 2019 Brazilian horror thriller about a nine year old girl who experiments with sorcery to hopefully bring her family back together.
Following the debut feature of director Gabriela Amaral Almeida‘s Friendly Beast, a movie that spirals into a lot of craziness of blood and sex, The Father’s Shadow (Brazilian: A Sombra Do Pai) tones down the physical crazy of her previous film, honing in on mental breakdown and sadness. Dalva (Nina Medeiros) has lost her mother and lives with her aunt (Luciana Paes) and her father. When her aunt moves away and her father (Julio Machado) has a few work issues taking up his time, he starts falling apart, sinking to the memory of his deceased wife and giving little care to Dalva. Because of this, Dalva starts experimenting with sorcery and trying to find the incantation that will bring her mother back and hopefully fill in the void needed to bring her family together.
It’s a slow movie and admittedly, more than a little odd, which is somewhat expected with Almeida at the helm, and in fact, this one feels more grounded in reality. With obvious nods to zombie horror in the most literal way inspiring much of Dalva’s motivations, the girl remains the focus as she experiments with sorcery, clearly influenced by movies, though her aunt as well as her best friend chip in, giving this quite a turn. That said, this isn’t a wordy film with most of the dialogue coming from the aunt, her voice filled with concern. The opposite goe for Dalva’s father, who has pretty much abandoned his parenting responsibilities, barely speaking to her, taking to the isolation.
Every character in this story bears their own scars. There are feelings of being replaced, being unimportant and labeled disposable whether in the family or at work. The horror, as such, is more subtle that in your face, with an uneasy feeling of expectation accentuated by teasing imagery that are meant to bring the chill. To be fair, it tries hard to break out from the routines in offering something a little different, but are often overshadowed by the melodrama.
If you like things to take their time and do so without a lot of words, this might be what you’re after. It’s experimental and explores the movie space without skimping too much on the pacing. It’s not that there isn’t anything happening, though it sort of just ends without much of fanfare. The cast find the right tone, especially Medeiros, who drives the whole movie, but there isn’t much momentum and it all sort of comes apart. Genre fans will find more to appreciate.