Photo: Codependent Films
Everyone deals with grief in their own way, which is a central theme in The Surrender. However, I highly doubt many people have gone the route that Barbara (Kate Burton) goes after she loses her husband. Much to her daughter Megan’s (Colby Minifie) surprise, she brings in a man to do a ritual that will supposedly bring him back from the dead.
The first two acts of the film are a build-up for the ritual and its aftermath, which takes over the entire third act. Because the very first shot of the film is a tease of what is to come, I was worried I would find myself anxiously waiting for the horror aspects to fully kick in, but I didn’t.
The setup is actually quite terrifying on its own. And even though we have seen a glimpse of what is to come, I still found myself on the edge of my seat wondering how it was going to get to that point. I love a good body horror and while I would not completely put The Surrender in that category, it does have a few moments that could classify as that. Think of this film as part thriller and part horror, with a dash of grotesque body horror.
Something that I found intriguing and interesting about this movie is the way that it not only portrays grief, but also the way it showcases the mother-daughter relationship that is at the core of it all. Megan is frustrated with her mom for many reasons but is struggling with how to express that in a way that is going to help her.
She explains that she left when her father got sick because of what it did to her mother, which, to be fair, is a difficult thing to deal with. The idea of losing the love of your life, even though we know death comes for us all, isn’t easy. Obviously, both Megan and Barbara dealt with the news in their own way, and that caused tension and bickering between the two of them.
Mother-daughter relationships are never easy. I am a daughter myself, clearly, and I also have two daughters. All too often there are strains put on these relationships for a multitude of reasons. The Surrender takes a look at that, which is something I feel is often pushed aside and not focused on in films. Megan is forced to come face-to-face with her issues with her mother, and the way it comes to a head at the end of the film is an aspect of it that I truly love.
The Surrender doesn’t have a lot of characters. There are just a handful of supporting roles but the main focus is on Megan and Barabara and their relationship. Because of this a lot of responsibility falls on the two actors, yet they are both incredible in the film. Truly demanding attention and carrying the film brilliantly.
Colby Minifie is fantastic as Ashley in The Boys, but I really enjoy her raw and vulnerable performance in The Surrender as well. She gives it her all, truly going there time after time, especially in that third act. She is completely unafraid to push boundaries and let go, something that is both impressive and exciting to watch.
The Surrender is a fantastic horror movie, but it is also a creative take on the relationship that parents have with their children.
Score: 8 out of 10
The Surrender synopsis: A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead. As the bizarre and brutal resurrection spirals out of control, both women must confront their differences as they fight for their lives — and for each other.
Shudder, AMC’s horror-centric streaming service, announced its acquisition of The Surrender after SXSW, stating it will be released on May 23 on the streaming platform.
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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She owns Mama’s Geeky, but also is a freelance writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for more than ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association. Her passion for film, television, video games, and comic books started when she was a little girl and has only continued to grow.