Sundance Movie Review: 'In My Mother's Skin' Evokes Creepy Mood
January 21 (UPI) -- Under My Mother's Skin, which premiered Friday at the Sundance Film Festival, is a chilling and terrifying story from the Philippines. Writer-director Kenneth Dagathan filters familiar horror themes through a unique lens.
In the Philippines in 1945, children Tala (Felicity Kyle Napoli) and Bucky (James Mavi Estrella) live with their sick mother Ligaya (Gozel Gonzalez); Their father (Arnold Reyes) oversees the deal with Japan after the war.
While playing outside, Tala enters an overgrown church, where a fairy (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) wearing a headdress with giant insect wings recognizes Tala's name and offers to help her mother. Fairy is sure that this medicine will get into her mother, but Tala accepts it.
After Tala administers the medicine, Dagatan reveals that Ligaya is still not well. There are images of lumps under the skin, blood vessels, an unusually long tongue, and an abnormal, but not long, appetite.
Dagatan has shown a determined hand in presenting this story. He came up with his own mythology and presented graphic horror, but focused more on emotion.
Just like Jaws doesn't feature many sharks, he spends more time watching League With Kids than League In My Mom 's Skin . However, Dagatan's accomplishments are always clearer than the PG -rated Jaws.
The story builds on a familiar ending, but it's hinted at in the opening. Even before meeting the children, the viewer sees a man chewing on a corpse.
So Daghatan played well. It shouldn't be twisted. Tala makes a deal with a demon, but a demon who isn't a traditional red-horned boy.
Dagatan received impressive sights from Naples and Esrella. Now forced to grow up in war, these children experience supernatural horrors.
Bayani doesn't appreciate what Tala has done and Tala has to face what she has created.
The combination of new legend and reliable horror keeps it fresh in my mother's skin . As Dagatan shows off the results, there are some really creepy and terrifying images, but that's a spoiler for the details.
Fred Topple, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is an entertainment writer at UPI based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Read more about careers in entertainment.
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