Resurrection (2022) Review
Spoiler-free so you can read before you watch
Horrorific content by christina on November 07th, 2022 | Movie Review | Love Sick, Psychological, Madness, Thriller, Mystery, Pregnancy, Body Horror, Stalker
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It's about a woman whose abusive ex-boyfriend returns to her life to stalk and torment her with disastrous consequences.
Resurrection was directed by Andrew Semans and stars Rebecca Hall (Godzilla vs. Kong, The Night House, and The Gift), Tim Roth (Funny Games, Dark Water), Grace Kaufman, Michael Esper, Angela Wong Carbone, Winsome Brown, Josh Drennen, Rosemary Howard, Jaime Zevallos (An Intrusion), and Patrick Klein (The Night House).
Resurrection is a psychological horror movie that came out in 2022. Rebecca Hall stars in it as Margaret, a single mom who seems to have a great life. However, things are not always what they appear to be. Her grip on reality begins to slip when a suspicious man appears in her life, lurking around wherever she goes.
The mother-daughter relationship between Margaret (Rosemarie DeWitt) and Abbie (Grace Kaufman) is at risk due to Margaret's growing paranoia and overprotectiveness. In addition, Margaret's increasingly erratic behavior is causing tension between the two.
The constant presence of the strange man has harmed Margaret's life; she has gone from being well-groomed to looking disheveled, with unkempt hair and body language that betrays her fear. The man in question is Margaret's ex-boyfriend, David. He was an abusive and controlling partner who controlled every aspect of her life.
She experienced some genuinely horrific abuse at the hands of David. He would couch it as "kindness," but it was anything but. She was humiliated, subjugated, and mutilated to "prove" her love for him. It was a nightmare.
Using stress poses as torture to extract information from prisoners is an excruciating process to witness. Margaret suffers immensely to satisfy David's sadistic desires for control over his former partner. The most vital element of "Resurrection" is Margaret's paranoia and how everyone she knows refuses to believe her.
I was angry when the police officer dismissed Margaret's fears about her stalker. She was clearly in a lot of pain and just trying to get help, but the officer acted like it was no big deal. It was infuriating.
Many victims of stalking, domestic abuse, or harassment by women often find that the people in their lives don't want to believe their experiences. This can be highly confusing and upsetting and is often called "gaslighting."
If we believe in something very strongly, but everyone denies it, how can we be sure what is real? How can we be confident our projected fears are not getting the better of us?
The script effectively uses a seed of doubt to create full doubt in what is being presented. Then, finally, David confesses to Margaret something so disturbing and grotesque that it can't be true.
From Margaret's perspective, she has experienced the series of events and believes David's story. When David finally reveals his story, she begins to feel him.
The movie Resurrection expertly employs the concept of an unreliable narrator. We feel compassion for Margaret and identify with her even when our sense of disbelief is challenged. The penultimate reveal in the film is quite shocking and plunges deep into the horrific realm of body horror.
Semans describes Margaret's abuse through monologues instead of showing anything explicit about the abuse she experienced. This results in a more profound emotional impact on the audience and a deeper connection to Margaret. The main character's performance in the film is fantastic and captures the story's emotional intensity. Roth is also excellent in his role, and the two of them together create a truly chilling atmosphere.
The film's main weakness is the poorly written script, as it needs to decide which genre it wants to belong to. It goes back and forth between psychological drama, thriller, and body horror but fails to maintain the tension it builds up in the beginning.
Despite some flaws, Resurrection promises a fantastic performance from Hall, enough frustrating suspense to keep you engaged, and a conclusion you likely won't predict.
Worth Watching?
The film deals with the issue of domestic violence and its effects on the mind and body. Although the film's ending is cathartic, it is also ambiguous, which leaves viewers with a lasting emotional attachment to the story.
