Summary
- Raging Grace tackles horrors that many immigrant workers face, highlighting prejudice, racism, and colonialism.
- The film’s eerie atmosphere, jump scares, and haunting score create an immersive experience.
- While it may not be the best horror of the year, Raging Grace tells a powerful story about immigrant workers and their struggles.
Steeped in its haunting atmosphere, Raging Grace is an effective horror/thriller that tackles the prejudice, racism, and colonialism that many immigrant workers face in modern society. British-born Filipino writer-director Paris Zarcilla combines competent jump scares and an immersive soundscape to highlight the terror of what it sometimes means to live as an immigrant.
Using traditional Filipino instruments in its score, audiences will become instantly enshrouded in the films’ unnerving atmosphere. Elevated by its small roster of complex characters, Raging Grace boasts a captivating story full of endless twists and turns that drive the story along unpredictably. It is a slow-burn, but with its eerie atmosphere and poignant themes, it makes for one of the more meaningful horror films of the year.
Is it among the genre’s best this year? That’s hard to say, especially considering how many great horror films 2023 has produced, like Talk To Me, Evil Dead Rise, The Elderly, When Evil Lurks, In Flames, and Thanksgiving. However, it does offer more than enough to provide audiences with a captivating and immersive tale that tells a painfully human story about the life and prejudices against immigrant workers and laborers, despite being bogged down with some pacing issues, and a runtime which is a little too long.
The Horror Immigrant Workers Face
Raging Grace
Release Date December 1, 2023
Director Paris Zarcilla
Cast Max Eigenmann, Jaeden Paige Boadilla, Leanne Best, David Hayman
Runtime 99 min
Main Genre Horror
Raging Grace follows Joy (Max Eigenmann), an undocumented Filipina worker relentlessly trying to make a living as a house-cleaner in order to take care of herself and her daughter, Grace (Jaeden Paige Boardilla). With no place to call home, the pair have been sleeping in the houses of Joy’s customers while they are away, just to have a roof over their heads.
Facing endless waves of classism, abuse, and prejudice during her time as a house cleaner, Joy finally lands the opportunity of becoming a caregiver for a terminally ill old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. However, a dark mystery soon threatens to destroy everything she has worked for, and puts her and her daughter’s lives in jeopardy.
Brainstorm Media
Where Raging Grace shines best is its incorporation of familiar horror movie tropes in order to highlight the real-life difficulties of undocumented workers. Raging Grace pulls no punches, almost forcing empathy onto audiences in order to share the universal experience of stepping into the shoes of a migrant worker. The montage of Joy going from house to house and interacting with the homeowners presents many uncomfortable moments. This disrespect and inhumane treatment turns the stomach, and instantly creates an unnerving atmosphere, especially when the niece of the wealthy old man constantly shouts at Joy over her Filipino ornaments and cooking.
Related: Best Movies About the Immigrant Experience, Ranked
Much like the 2019 Best Picture winner Parasite, Raging Grace shocks and terrifies audiences with the impeccable accuracy of the real world, and the horrendous normality of classism. The film deeply understands the almost inherent disregard that the working class is treated with by wealthier people; caregivers, retail workers, laborers, and especially immigrants get perceived as less-than. It’s a hierarchic issue that has lasted for all of human history and still needs fixing, and Paris Zarcilla’s raw and upsetting film does more than enough to put audiences into the shoes of the victims, leaving a lasting impact.
A Complex Story and Multi-Dimensional Characters
Brainstorm Media
Driven by its characters and their never-ending secrets, Raging Grace boasts an unpredictable story that will constantly surprise. From its very first frame, there is no telling where the film will lead us or the true intentions of its characters, despite the familiar horror movie tropes. A character’s behavior may result in anticipation of one thing, only for the film to throw a huge curveball that changes everything.
Audiences will immediately fall in love with Joy and have sympathy for her after the continuous belittlement her character faces from everyone around her, even her own daughter. She is kind, caring, and quietly wise, and just wants to provide for herself and her daughter. Max Eigenmann offers a captivating and vulnerable performance as Joy, immersing audiences into the character’s torturous journey. The film’s antagonists, the old man (David Heyman) and Catherine (Leanne Best), are both detestable. They constantly discriminate against Joy, and harbor deadly secrets about their past, their intentions, and the house.
Related: Best Movies About the Immigrant Experience, Ranked
The daughter Grace has the best development of all. At first, she is a nuisance who holds resentment towards her mother, continually getting her in unfortunate situations. But eventually, Grace learns how much her mother has done for her, and what she has risked keeping her daughter protected and safe. Seeing the pair’s relationship blossom after many challenges wraps the film up beautifully in an unexpectedly tender ending.
An Eerie Atmosphere with Effective Jump Scares
Brainstorm Media
Raging Grace may lean into many familiar horror movie tropes, but it uses them effortlessly, such as creating a few of the most effective jump scares of the year. The movie starts off with a subject that may not lead to an expectation of jump scares, but within the first few seconds, the film immediately proves us wrong. Things never ease up from there, yet where the movie shines is with its atmosphere. With Raging Grace’s confined 4:3 aspect ratio, Zarcilla creates a claustrophobic and isolated frame that reflects the oppression which Joy feels. On top of that, the decision to utilize traditional Filipino instruments is a clever choice that connects us even more with Joy, as well as building dread and suspense. It’s just one of many instances of how smart and culturally specific, yet emotionally universal, this film is.
Released by Brainstorm Media, Raging Grace is set to release in select theaters December 1st, and on demand December 8th. Check out the trailer below:
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