South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival – Sarah (Shari Sebbens) and Fergus (Meyne Wyatt) are in the prime of their young lives. Arriving home with their brand new baby, James, they are the photo of young, in love, and happy. But when Sarah begins to have strange visions, it’s clear that there is something dark and deadly in their home with them.

New parenthood comes with a wealth of fears, and paranoia. Almost every culture has their version of a “baby thief” or a changeling. “Moogai” is the Bundjalung (aboroginal Australian) word for “ghost”, and a childlike ghost is exactly what Sarah sees watching over her baby the first night at home. Like many First Nations stories, the ghost tale of the Moogai, and the Burnt Woman, a figure of grief and loss, come from the atrocities committed against their people. The Moogai is a tribute to the Stolen Generation – over 6 decades of aboriginal children ripped from their homes and put into assimilation programs, not unlike the residential schools Native American children were subjected to in the United States. Twisting this grief into a haunting tale of child loss and terror, The Moogai is completely individual in its origin and its story.

Haunting and simple imagery carries the short story into the realm of memorable, iconic horror. Written and Directed by Jon Bell, Bell used his Bundjalung heritage and his love of classic film to create something remarkable and unique. Citing David Fincher and Stanley Kubrick as inspirations, Bell’s eye is impeccable. The story itself is familiar and new at the same time, and pays soft tribute to atrocities that most people don’t know about. In my research I discovered countless tales of loss that permeate Australian culture to this day, and deserve to be told.

Incredible kudos to Bell for making the voices of the lost heard once again, and doing so with a driven and stunning horror story that has a home in the hearts of anyone who has experienced loss or grief. What The Babadook did to break ground for grief and loss is dug deep with The Moogai as postpartum depression, paranoia, and fear are highlighted for all to see.

The Moogai reviewed as part of our South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival coverage.

9 out of 10