Before you know it, summer will be upon us. And then comes autumn, which some also call “the spooky season.” In other words, the infamous Shudder streamer is here to remind you that, since we’re already “Halfway to Halloween” (as their current programming calls it), why not celebrate the milestone with vintage Irish folk horror? And Fréwaka is a good one, folks, replete with psychological madness and a unique setting. So unique, in fact, that it’s billed as the first ever Irish-language horror film.
Don’t let the subtitles bum you out, though. There’s plenty else to shake you to the core, rest assured. From director Aislinn Clarke (The Devil’s Doorway), Fréwaka — translated from Irish to mean “roots,” and you’ll see why — dares us to believe in powers beyond what’s attainable by the human grasp. It’s an unnerving, grim treat (sometimes to a fault), one that horror fans will dissect for days, especially after those outstanding final images.
Get Off Her Lawn…
Fréwaka
4
/5
- Release Date
-
March 20, 2025
- Runtime
-
103 minutes
- Director
-
Aislinn Clarke
- Writers
-
Aislinn Clarke
- Producers
-
Patrick O’Neill
- There is gripping psychological terror throughout, with plenty of surprising plot developments.
- Excellent acting, and even better direction that creates a suffocating atmosphere.
- A culturally specific film that’s very unique to Irish folk horror.
- The film is overwhelmingly grim at times.
Fréwaka begins with a tried-and-true introductory sequence for horror movies, one which reveals one of the film’s central characters at a young age and the traumas that will pave the way for more horror to come. It’s heartbreaking to see a young, vibrant gal named Peig (Grace Collender) at a house party in her prime, only to soon be haunted by some sort of unexplained presence, which caps off the film’s intriguing cold open. Was it all in the party girl’s head? Or are the rumors true, that sinister forces indeed roam our modern world?
Whatever it was, it reduces the older version of Peig (Bríd Ní Neachtain) to an agoraphobic houseplant who refuses the company of visitors. That includes the younger Shoo (Clare Monnelly), a seemingly down-to-earth home care worker who is assigned by her employer to move to Peig’s remote village and look after her. What could go wrong?
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Shoo has her own baggage in the form of loving fiancée Mila (Aleksandra Bystrzhitskaya), who’s forever concerned about Shoo and her traumatic family past. Actually, Shoo herself is perhaps the baggage, with boxes of things around their house that she refuses to part with as the pair try to make plans for their future together. Conveniently, Shoo puts off dealing with her hoards of family heirlooms in order to head out for her daunting job assignment to temporarily shack up with the now physically and mentally ailing Peig.
It’d be too easy if Peig resided in, say, an apartment complex smack-dab in the heart of a busy Irish city. No, our caretaker protagonist must “shoo” off to the tucked-away hillsides, where the elderly agoraphobic lies in bed, dreading her visitor’s arrival. Does the seemingly irrational fear stem from a simple contempt for her neighbors? Peig insists to the newly arrived Shoo that there’s indeed much more to the story.
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Trauma Bonding
Yes, Peig finally succumbs and begrudgingly allows Shoo into her humble abode. But Shoo brings her own shortcomings with her, besides the troubled backstory. A real-life public figure once said, “If you don’t have a crutch, I don’t trust you.” Shoo relies too heavily on prescription pills to calm her down in bouts of anxiety (and hysteria), a crutch that will pay off in spades later in this thrilling, small-scale saga.
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Forming an unlikely trauma-bond of sorts, Peig soon opens up to Shoo and spills about her fear of the Na Sídhe, AKA sinister entities that she is convinced abducted her decades earlier. Will the fear rub off on Shoo over time, especially once the caretaker starts hearing ever-so-strange noises around the house? Maybe it’s not such a coincidence Shoo, of all the live-in aids, was the one assigned to the increasingly haunted Peig, whose uneasy home might even lead Shoo to confront the horrors of her own upbringing. There’s “tough parenting,” and then there’s what Shoo describes about her own childhood…
The “Root” of All Horror?
If you think it all gets monster-in-the-house predictable from there, think again. Sure, there are some typical hysteria-laced beats of Shoo ducking calls from Mila and other concerned folks, such as her employer. Shoo ultimately terminates communication with everyone after venturing down the rabbit hole of Peig’s harbored trauma. Watch out for a standout pair of scenes from visiting inspector Deirdre (Olga Wehrly), sent by Shoo’s employer to ensure she’s adequately keeping Peig’s life in order. It’d be boring if all checked out fine, but writer-director Clarke takes the drama a step further by weaving Deirdre herself into the possibly demonic tale — but we won’t spoil any surprises here.
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It’s a horrific hoot seeing Peig’s madness rub off on Shoo, whose day-to-day tasks of heading into town for groceries turn into full-on nightmarish ordeals. It’s enough to spike your own blood pressure watching the Irish townies snicker at the increasingly neurotic Shoo behind her back, as she tries to make sense of why her own traumatic past is becoming more and more relevant to what Peig has been trying to preach to her. Admittedly, all of this does become upsetting and incredibly grim, but that is simply the ultimate trajectory of the film. The final images would make horror auteurs like Ari Aster proud, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for filmmaker Clarke — including a hypothetical continuation of this intriguing world.
Fréwaka will begin streaming on Shudder April 25.
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