Raging Grace


Raging Grace is a 2023 British horror film directed and co-written by Paris Zarcilla. The film stars Max Eigenmann, Jaeden Paige Boadilla, Leanne Best, and David Hayman.

Plot

Joy is an undocumented Filipina immigrant in the UK who has a young daughter named Grace. Joy takes a job as a housekeeper for a woman named Katherine. Inside Katherine's mansion is Katherine's uncle Mr. Garrett, who's bedridden and mostly unconscious. Joy hides Grace in the mansion without Katherine's knowledge.
One day, Grace observes Katherine has been feeding Mr. Garrett sleeping pills. On another night, Grace finds a dead Filipina woman tucked away in a glass box in a secluded area of the abode. Katherine forces Joy to keep administering the wrong medication to Mr. Garrett, much to Joy's distress. One day, while Katherine is absent, Joy cooks up a liquid herbal remedy and administers it to Mr. Garrett. Mr. Garrett becomes lucid, calling for someone named Gloria, and tells Joy that Katherine is an imposter. Mr. Garrett verbally expresses an affinity for Filipino people, and offers Joy and Grace a permanent job and residence. He insists that Grace call him "lolo" and that Joy call him "master." Joy discovers undelivered letters from Gloria to her family, expressing distress at not being with them.
Grace takes a liking to Mr. Garrett, but eventually Mr. Garrett's nefarious nature becomes evident. He mutters that he longs for the days when "there was a hierarchy" and when "they knew their place." It's revealed that he had Katherine's mother unjustly committed in order to steal her fortune. Katherine takes Joy to the secluded area containing the old woman, revealing the woman to be Gloria.
Police come to the abode, saying that they've received word of an illegal immigrant on the premises. They haul Joy away. Katherine prepares to kill Mr. Garrett, but Mr. Garrett gets Grace to inject Katherine with a substance that causes her to violently hallucinate before tumbling down the stairs. Grace urges Mr. Garrett to help bring Joy back, but then realizes that it was he who called the police to the house. A violent struggle between Mr. Garrett, Grace, and Katherine ensues, leading to the mansion catching fire and Grace and Katherine escaping.
Later, Katherine helps Grace reunite with Joy, and also covertly gives Joy advice on how to stay in the country, which involves Joy reuniting with Grace's biological father.

Cast

  • Max Eigenmann as Joy
  • Jaeden Paige Boadilla as Grace
  • Leanne Best as Katherine
  • David Hayman as Mr Garrett

    Reception

Writing for RogerEbert.com, Monica Castillo gave the film 4 stars our of 4, saying that "in his feature debut, writer and director Paris Zarcilla proves he is a master storyteller." Matthew Jackson of Paste gave the film a positive review, calling it "a satisfying and remarkable debut from a new horror voice." Trevor Johnston of Time Out gave the film 3 stars out of 5, calling it "mostly disarmingly effective" and praising it for being "driven by an authentic need to find a fresh angle on representing an undervalued cultural heritage."