The phrase “slow burn” used to have a positive connotation, as in – the suspense is building slowly, but then there will be a payoff. The newly On Demand ‘Surrogate’ has been called a “slow burn”, which has become a euphemism for just “slow,” I’m afraid.
The Australian paranormal horror flick indeed ends with cool revelation, but it’s a long sit getting there for me. Others will empathize with the main character’s plight and find it worthwhile, if not exactly scary.
Natalie Paxton ( Kestie Morassi) is a single mother and a nurse. Her daughter, Rose (Taysha Furragia) is her top priority, but a Mom has to work, right?
One night after her shift, Natalie is approached by a woman, possibly homeless, who seems to be having a severe mental episode, which culminates in some weird substance gushing from her mouth as she collapses. Possibly dead, and Natalie starts CPR and mouth-to-mouth immediately.
Later that night, Natalie awakes from her sleep to find she is covered in blood in her genital area. Suddenly blood begins gushing from – I mean, a lot of blood comes out ( the producers boast that special effects artist Renee Schulz made the scene “which made a crew member physically ill on set.”
Pretty cool way to start, right?
The hospital thinks she has just given birth – miscarried, but there’s no baby! Natalie says she hasn’t had sex in more than a year-it is impossible that she has given birth. There is a distinct lack of scares from this ghost story, which, indeed, involves children, but there was much more tension for me with the introduction of a child welfare worker (Jane Badler ) who thinks Natalie has killed her newborn, and is now also checking up on daughter Rose as if she’s in danger – so, an innocent Mom is now under the suspicious eye of someone who could take her daughter. Now that’s scary.
While it’s true that some creepy looking characters and a child ghost (so many movies with children as the scary characters, am I right?), I never could get past the plodding narrative and really get immersed.
The cast are top notch, the production values are good, considering the budget.
‘Surrogate’ | 2 out of 4 Stars | written by Beth King and David Willing, in his feature directorial debut.
Now on Tubi and Google TV ! For More Information Visit: https://www.surrogatefilm.com/
