It’s always a curious thing when natural disasters occur. For instance, in the new horror film A Mother’s Embrace, A Ana (Marjorie Estiano) and her colleagues in a team of emergency rescue workers are tasked with evacuating a large assisted living home during a torrential downpour. Flooding is inevitable and the house is crumbling on its foundation yet the residents refuse to leave. Thankfully for us, the audience, this isn’t just because they are stubborn or set in their ways. There is a much darker, sinister answer that awaits. Written by Gabriela Capello, André Pereira, and Cristian Ponce A Mother’s Embrace is a beautifully executed, but uneven horror pic.

The time is 1966, the place is Rio De Janeiro. This is mostly superfluous aside from connecting the story to the actual historic floods that hit the area at that time. We first meet Ana as a little girl. After sipping on some laced milk that her mother gives her, the two visit a nearby carnival. That night, a fire starts in their apartment. We jump to the modern day (1966) and Ana is now a courageous member of a first-responder paramedics team. We learn briefly that her estranged mother from the opening has just passed. No sooner are we handed this info than a last-minute call comes in. It seems there is a dilapidated mansion filled with the elderly and infirm that is in danger of flooding and collapsing. Ana and her team are sent to assess the situation.

At first, the residents are obstinant, almost rude, in their stance to stay in the disintegrating home. None of them remember making a call to emergency services, and none are interested in traversing the rain for safety. As the Emergency workers explore the mansion several discoveries, including one young girl named Cristina (Chandelly Braz), they realize that there is imminent danger and it isn’t just about the torrential downpour outside.

A Mother’s Embrace is an elegantly produced horror picture with a so-so story. The beautifully shot film with cinematography by Franco Cerana and Leandro Pagliaro looks like a million bucks. Ponce directs with a very visual style and the two photographers have a keen sense of composition and light. Lucas Osório’s production design is beautiful for sure, but it never seems to be given enough of a chance to indicate time or place aside from a few flashback scenes.

My problem with the film is that it understands the mechanics of good storytelling but never bridges the gap. Ana is given a harrowing backstory with a believable emotional force. Yet her story never truly seems to tie that well with the elements in the main story. It’s a frustrating thing to see such capable craftsmanship without the skill to connect things as well as they could be. A Mother’s Embrace is entertaining but ultimately fails to deliver a story with true resonance.

Thankfully, if you are not trying to peer into the murky depths of the story, things still work as surface entertainment. The A-plot is strong enough to keep you engaged ven if the B-plot never really seems to marry with it.