South by Southwest 2023 Film Festival –Raging Grace, written and directed by Paris Zarcilla, begins as a fairly familiar story about an undocumented mother and her daughter trying to carve out a living and fly under the radar in a UK. They can’t risk deportation. However, by the halfway point, the feature morphs into something else completely, a visionary fever dream that maintains its immigrant narrative set against a Gothic aesthetic.

Joy (Max Eigenmann), an undocumented Filipino caregiver, lands a job tending to an old man, Mr. Garrett (David Hayman), at his rather large estate. She does this under the watchful eye of Mr. Garrett’s peculiar niece, Katherine (Leanne Best). Despite the rather strange circumstance, Joy doesn’t ask any questions, at least at first. She simply needs the money and a roof over her head. She hides her daughter Grace (Jaeden Paige Boadilla) in a suitcase and tells her to remain in the bedroom, at least while Katherine is present. This way, Joy won’t lose her job. However, Grace tiptoes out of the bedroom and notices something strange. Katherine appears to be keeping her uncle in a comatose state by forcing him to take a daily cocktail of pills. When Katherine goes away for a week, Joy and Grace nurse Mr. Garrett back to the land of the living through traditional medicines. That’s when things get really weird.

The first half of Raging Grace plays out like a tight thriller, set in a house filled with mystery, where half of the furniture is covered with bedsheets and large family portraits eye Grace and Joy’s every move. When Mr. Garrett wakes up, the movie becomes a relentless nightmare. It turns out that neither Mr. Garrett nor Katherine exactly has the best intentions, especially when it comes to Joy and Grace. Best especially gives a hair-raising performance here, as does Hayman when his character finally wakes up. It’s evident Joy and Grace are in some serious danger, and not only because of their immigration status. They’re at the mercy of two people who want to use them for their own nefarious purpose. The film’s biggest flaw is that Katherine and Mr. Garrett’s stories aren’t quite fleshed out enough, including the complicated family history.

Some small flaws aside, this is the type of film that will keep you guessing and will lead you down one shadowy corridor after another, where secrets regarding Mr. Garrett’s shady past await. The feature leans into the Gothic aesthetic and plays with several of those tropes. You have a creepy old mansion, family secrets, and a conclusion that mirrors several Gothic stories dating back to the 19th Century. Yet, what makes this film unique is the way that it centers Grace and Joy’s story and the immigrant narrative. Meanwhile, by the second half, the film doesn’t skimp on the scares. There’s the ever-present threat of two deranged villains, Mr. Garrett and Katherine, coupled with strange dream sequences that grow more and more unnerving.

Raging Grace is a bold and riveting film. While there are plenty of traditional horror moments here, the true terror comes from how others use and treat the protagonist. Zarcilla’s film is sharp in its commentary and effective in its Gothic setting. This is one unsettling fever dream.

7 Out of 10