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NOCEBO
(October 2022)
“Something is hidden inside of you, Christine.
Something you hide from yourself. It is invisible to you, and you must see it.
It makes you sick. I will draw it out of you and show it to you.”
A children’s fashion line called Tykie comes to a
screeching halt after a distressing phone call, and the disturbing “encounter” that
accompanies it (one of the creepiest dog scenes I’ve ever seen; at one point in
the film’s runtime, that dog is described as “a hideous thing”).
In the aftermath, fashion designer Christine (Eva
Green) suffers through a debilitating months-long ordeal, broken only upon the
sudden arrival of Diana (Chai Fonacier), who hails from a “very special place”
in the southern area of the Philippines, and who claims to have been hired by
Christine, though she has no memory of it at all.
“It’s very
pretty.”
“It is?”
“We will make
it pretty.”
Meanwhile, the other members of the household,
daughter Roberta (Billie Gadsdon) and husband Felix (Mark Strong), need to
acclimate to this stranger suddenly living under the same roof. One is initially
rude, the other, increasingly suspicious, while Christine becomes more trusting
and dependent on Diana.
“This is just
different medicine, Christine.”
That’s the basic set-up of Lorcan Finnegan’s latest,
Nocebo.
If you’ve been paying attention, Finnegan landed ‘round
these parts previously for Vivarium,
and this film, like Vivarium, ends up
being a potent title with a very singular, unsettling vision, proof positive
that Finnegan continues to be a name to look out for.
Nocebo is
also of particular interest to me since it’s an Irish-Philippine co-production,
significant portions of which were shot on location in the Philippines.
Also noteworthy are Fonacier’s commendable
performance, and the film’s score, courtesy of Jose Antonio C. Buencamino. This
seems to be Buencamino’s first feature film credit, and it’s an impressive one.
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“This is so
much better than a cure.”
There’s also a particular scene in Nocebo--during Diana’s recounting of her
past--that should be a treat for any lovers of Philippine folklore out there.
The term Diana uses may not be the one that might
be expected, given what unfolds onscreen, but it’s a nonetheless familiar image to a folklore lover, and that
scene’s imagery goes off like gangbusters.
Ultimately though, while the horror in Nocebo is shudderingly effective, it’s
the tragic underpinning of the narrative* (scripted by familiar Finnegan collaborator
Garret Shanley) that serves as the iron-hard core of this film.
It’s been a long, long, looooong while since I’ve seen a Filipino horror movie that’s this effective.
And sure, it’s a co-production, but still…
So, hopefully, that’s piqued your interest enough to
seek this one out…
“You must
allow me in, Christine. I will prepare you to face it. You will know it when
you see it. You will understand what must happen. And you will be free.”
* An incident based on an actual tragedy in recent
Philippine history. To say any more at this juncture would be to spoil a key
plot point.
There is
a prominent statement though, during the end credits roll that will acknowledge
and shine a spotlight on that tragedy.
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(Nocebo
OS’ and quad courtesy of imdb.com, twitter.com, and themoviewaffler.com.)
