Andrew E reviews: The Haunting of Mia Moss!

The Haunting of Mia Moss.

Directed By: Jake Zelch Written By Jake Zelch
Screenplay By: Jake Zelch & Curtis Carnahan
Produced By: Dustin Hubbard, Curtis Carnahan, Jake Zelch
Starring: Nicola Fiore, Brinke Steven

Premise:

Mia Moss (Nicola Fiore; Slaughter Daughter) returns to her childhood home and is pursued by a darkness she can’t escape.

Review: After watching ‘The Haunting of Mia Moss’ I could see a lot of potentials. This film has some genuinely well-established jump scares and some brilliant looking “shadow people”. There are a number of these demonic shadow forces and all of whom look very well created – From the faceless man to the girl in the mirror. Mia Moss (Nicola Fiore) returns to her family home after a number of years and begins to suffer from sleeping problems as every time she closes her eyes she is faced with horrific beings and situations. These nightmarish sequences begin to overspill into reality and Mia begins to feel she is being watched, with “eyes on her” to quote the character. Mia troubled by what she is experiencing looks to the internet for answers about her sleep paralysis. Failing to find answers and attempting to cleanse the environment with sage she approaches her mother to see if her past can unlock an explanation as to what is happening to her.

Nicola does a great job holding the leading role and making it believable. There are some noticeable nods to horror movies past – to me the movie “Light’s Out” was inspiring the director for some of “the shadow people” scare sequences within Mia’s home. The conversation in the street with Mia and two of her friends reminded me of the conversations between Laurie Strode and her friends in the original 1978 movie Halloween. And there are some well-framed shots that felt like they were knowingly nodding to “It Follows”.

Story continued…

Upon confronting her mother we learn that Mia’s mother was once subjected to the same fate in her younger years. We learn this is a family curse and the “demons or the devil himself” are coming for their family. Mia’s mother and her mother (Mia’s grandmother) would take it in turns to pray for each other in order for one of them to be left alone from the torment. Mia’s mother is played be the scream queen Brinke Stevens.

Brinke holds the role brilliantly. Though Brinkes role is minimal in the film it has an impact. It is revealed at the age of 5 that Mia began suffering the same fate as her mother and grandmother. Mia’s grandmother offered “the shadow people” a sacrifice for them to stay away (we can assume this was her life, though not stated). Offering the demons a sacrifice was the price that had to be paid in order for “the shadow people” to leave the descendants alone from the torment.

Mia’s mother assumed the sacrifice would protect her daughter and her but it only appeased “the shadow people” for Mia’s mother and for a period of time before they returned for Mia. Mia’s mother realizes Mia’s hell would only be solved if she too would offer herself as a sacrifice to save her daughter as her mother had done before her.

There is also a further twist at the end of the movie that I won’t ruin!

What was good about “The Haunting of Mia Moss”?

As I stated before the movie has some excellent makeup and costumes within it. The “shadow people” looked brilliant and cannot be faulted. Some of the scare sequences are positioned and edited really well and do work very effectively. There is no awful acting or even anyone that can be faulted. I think all actors involved did a great job at delivering their characters with believability and conviction. Both Nicola and Brinke do a great job and are pleasures to watch on screen together.

What is not so good?

I did get distracted by some of the camera work. Some of the camera work is very shaky and can (at times) distract from some of the scenes that could have turned out very well if for example were shot on a tripod. Another issue for me was some of the scenes (especially scare scenes) were very drawn out. They repeated actions that with editing and condensing could have been really effective. There are some sound issues and the audio quality at times is hit and miss. Story-wise I would have liked a little bit more explanation as to who “the shadow people” were and why they targeted this particular family. And a little bit more intensity around the sacrificing of Mia’s mother.

Conclusion:

If you like independent cinema and want to give this movie a go then you can expect some well-executed scare scenes and good acting, with some drawbacks that are expected with a lower budget movie. Being an independent filmmaker myself understand with small budgets sometimes it is hard to get your film polished to the highest of standards without costs spiraling. I would definitely recommend watching it, as it does genuinely have some great jump scares and moments within it. The movie has some incredible artwork attached to it and is an exciting start to this filmmaker’s journey. I will be excited to see what comes next from this production company. Brinke Stevens is a treat to watch in this movie, so if you’re a Brinke fan you will enjoy it.