The season of the witch is upon us.
Since 2008, the horror landscape has been dominated by movies and television shows focused on two genre mainstays, vampires and zombies.
But ever so slowly, since about 2015 with the debut of Robert Eggers’ "The Witch" and carrying on into Netflix’s "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" and a handful of excellent independent releases like "Cherry Tree," "The Night Sitter" and the 2018 remake of "Suspiria," the spellcasters have taken center stage.
"Mary"
3 out of 5 stars
Rated: R
Run Time: 84 minutes
Directed by Michael Goi
Starring Gary Oldman, Emily Mortimer, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Stefanie Scott, Chloe Perrin, Owen Teague and Jennifer Esposito
Now available on most streaming Video-on-Demand platforms
"Mary," the second feature from genre TV director Michael Goi ("American Horror Story," "Swamp Thing," "The Gifted"), is a witch movie but it also feels like the repayment of a favor owed.
Gary Oldman, one year removed from his Oscar-winning turn in "Darkest Hour," plays David, a charter boat captain with a loving wife, Sarah (Emily Mortimer), and two daughters, one of whom is aptly named Mary. David is struggling to provide for the family, which pushes him to seek his own vessel to own independently, and he’s struggling to forgive a transgression by Sarah.
It’s at an auction yard where David discovers Mary, a sailing yacht found abandoned with no crew, adrift at sea. He is transfixed by the boat and the ornate carved siren that juts out from her bow. He immediately buys the vessel without consulting Sarah, sinking all of their available funds into a broken-down wreck with a past.
Mary, the film, is told through two perspectives. There’s the film as it unfolds, chronicling the maiden voyage of David’s last hope for independence, with Sarah, their daughters, and two deck hands, Mike (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Tommy (Owen Teague), on board.
And there’s present day, at a federal detention facility in Jacksonville, where Sarah is being questioned by Detective Clarkson (Jennifer Esposito), after Mary, the boat, is found adrift and burning at sea and Sarah and her daughters are discovered in a life raft.Clarkson wants to know what happened to David and the crew.
“He tried to fight it as long as he could,” Sarah tells Clarkson. “Evil needs a body to exist. The body was that boat.”
Because "Mary" is not the gold-standard, awards-season type follow-up by an actor of Oldman’s caliber, it’s tempting to suggest that he simply took the role of David to satisfy a producer or a studio or a friend. But suggesting that would be a disservice to Goi’s film, which is surprisingly strong despite not showcasing more shocks and gore.
"Mary" is both a ghost story and the story of an ancient sea witch who will stop at nothing to consume souls. The history of the vessel is delivered somewhat piecemeal through maritime journals, newspaper accounts and Coast Guard incident reports. At least three other families took Mary to sea, and each lost a child in the process.
Sarah quickly picks up on the strange goings-on when her youngest daughter, Mary, begins drawing her new imaginary friend, a looming black stick figure that lords over the rest of the family. Then different people on-board start acting erratically and violently, as if possessed.
Back and forth, the film toggles, from terror on the high seas to threats of imprisonment and worse in the interrogation room.
What’s most interesting as "Mary" moves along is that it’s Mortimer, not Oldman, who really takes command of the screen. As momma bear to her children, Mortimer’s Sarah is a fierce protector. And there’s a key twist late in the third act that helps to explain why she is such a focal point.
"Mary" is effectively unnerving, but the film as a whole doesn’t fire on all cylinders until the last 20 minutes or so. It ends in a way that makes you wish there was more story to watch, which is always a good thing, but it also begs the question of why the movie took so long to really get good.
As we hit the midpoint of October, when scary movies should be a constant on every TV, Mary makes for a good ghost story to rent, but not a must-own title to add to your horror collection.
John W. Allman has spent more than 25 years as a professional journalist and writer, but he’s loved movies his entire life. Good movies, awful movies, movies that are so gloriously bad you can’t help but champion them. Since 2009, he has cultivated a review column and now a website dedicated to the genre films that often get overlooked and interviews with cult cinema favorites like George A. Romero, Bruce Campbell and Dee Wallace. Contact him at Blood Violence and Babes.com, on Facebook @BloodViolenceBabes or on Twitter @BVB_reviews.
