A Gothic horror exploration set in 1850s England, Taratoa Stappard’s debut feature film, Mārama, binds exquisitely crafted dread with intentional storytelling. Gothic horror stories are often rooted in the fear of something (or someone) and about revealing a dark past. These haunting stories became popular around the mid to late 1800s with books such as Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It makes sense that, when telling a story like this, one about colonialism and violence in the mid 19th century, Stappard would cloak it in the elements of this subgenre.
Why Is She Here?
Mary Stevens (Ariana Osborne) received a letter from Thomas Boyd, a man she doesn’t know, informing her about her parents and where she came from. After traveling for many days, she arrives at the writer’s home to find out he’s dead. The man’s employer, Nathanial Cole (Toby Stephens) sends his housemaid, Peggy (Umi Myers) to bring her to his home. He asks her to become his granddaughter’s governess with promises to help find out what Mr. Boyd knew about her heritage.
You see, Mary is Māori, a Polynesian people who are Indigenous to New Zealand. She was adopted by an Englishman and raised far away from her home. However, she was not cut off from her culture. So she knows the language and the customs, but she doesn’t know her parents. Osbourne connects us to Mary’s motivation to not only connect with her people, but to understand the visions she is having. Her performance is empowering, really. There is one scene when Mary, in a moment of rage, performs a Māori haka. This scene is pure, ravenous beauty.
The Mission
Stappard uses a haunting score and the camera to take part in the storytelling. From breathtaking wide shots that capture just how intimate this one story is compared to the deep history it’s a part of, to hushed moments that are drenched in darkness and candlelight. It’s through that ability to make these moments authentic that keeps us invested in Mary’s mission. We watch as she discovers more about her visions and someone is trying to warn her.
Cole is like other white men of those times who want to take and to control. Though we don’t know everything about him. Stappard uses the estate, a museum of sorts, to show just how obsessed Cole is with Māori culture. More importantly, Cole’s desire to own it for himself. It doesn’t take long for Mary to uncover that there is more to him and his connection to her family.
Why You Need to Watch
Stappard’s aim to make us feel like we just woke up inside a Mary Shelley novel doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. However, the cultural relevance of this dark historical period piece is still worth experiencing. It starts out as a dramatic mystery and morphs into a violent, bloody thriller. It also gives us one of the most satisfying endings in a while. This isn’t a “white man bad” film. It’s about reclaiming one’s history, learning from it, and creating a better future. It’s also about getting revenge, which I love to see.
Mārama is a haunting, Gothic horror that takes on a dark time in history with confidence. Writer-director, Taratoa Stappard, brings the story of Māori women, many of whom have been lost to history, to life with the film’s dynamic characters and visual composition.
