Before the lights dimmed on the world premiere of Godmother, director John Veron (ahead of the world premiere of his full-length directorial debut) warned the Fantastic Fest crowd: “Y’all don’t know what’s about to happen to you.”
That’s often not the case at Fantastic Fest; it can be very easy to fall into the slow trappings of previous genre films, with well-trodden plot beats and a slow, familiar build-up to a few fun kills. But Godmother had enough twists and turns throughout its runtime to make it legitimately exciting to watch, and a standout of the fest so far. (Although, to be transparent, we’re only on Day 3 at the time of this publishing.)
As I was jotting down my chicken scratch notes for this review, I kept writing down where I thought the plot was going, and I can admit publicly–I got it wrong every time.
Theo (played by Paige Evans) is a quiet artist who just wants to settle down with her techbro boyfriend, Colby (Cameron Cuffe). Colby just sold his app for loads of cash and is now looking to make his next millions in AI. What a charmer. But first, he wants to have a quiet, romantic weekend in a New Mexico Airbnb with his girlfriend. Unfortunately for Colby, Theo has invited her free-spirited older sister Katie (Riley Dandy), dubbed “a hurricane of fucking bullshit,” and that’s ruining Colby’s plans to propose during this weekend getaway.
Their Airbnb is hosted by an affable but overreaching elderly couple (portrayed by genre legends Dee Wallace and Bruce Davison). They are a bit too much in Theo and Colby’s way, always seeming to hang around to make weird comments about their sex life. But anyone could write that off: they’re just older and lonely; they don’t know some of the more modern etiquette that we’re used to. But then things get weird: the already-putrid welcome bouquet begins to ooze… something, and a bloody desert lizard seems to have decided to die on their bed.
Mix the macabre with the more personal relationship strife littered throughout the film (who hasn’t gotten into a tiff with their girlfriend’s older sister after she invited two random “desert queens” to your Airbnb for a game of beer pong?), and you get a pretty engaging horror ride.
The movie’s settings are simple: a couple of (beautiful) adobe houses, the stark New Mexico desert, and a small cast. But you never feel the restraints. Filmed in a total of 16 days (13 for principal photography, 3 for pick-ups and reshoots), Godmother is a good example of low-budget filmmaking that doesn’t necessarily feel low-budget.
The script started in 2016, Veron’s first draft bemoaning “how weird it is to fuck in an Airbnb,” but has drastically evolved since–21 drafts later. Creative Producer and co-writer Alanah Pearce (known by many in the crowd for her acting work and video game writing) joined the project after auditioning for the lead role, but instead worked to further flesh out the world of Godmother and inject real-life horrors throughout the film.
It is always a thrill to see Dee Wallace and Bruce Davison on the big screen, and they both get roles in Godmother that they can really sink their teeth into. Wallace’s southern drawl is a particular highlight, and Davison walks a tightrope of being both charming and menacing–often at the same time. Another highlight was Cameron Cuffe (Krypton), who plays a bit of a golden retriever boyfriend at times, and who surprised me when he spoke at the post-screening Q&A: he’s British!
Godmother is still looking for distribution, but judging by the rowdy reactions in the theater, moviegoers will want to seek it out to watch with a crowd. And for all my friends who came in from out of town and are settling into their local Airbnbs for the week… maybe double-check your locks.
