Mārama
A Māori gothic story of retribution.
From director Taratoa Stappard, and starring Ariāna Osborne and Toby Stephens — the year’s most visually stunning Gothic Horror. Far from home and haunted by visions, a Māori woman uncovers gruesome secrets inside an English manor. A bold, unsettling gothic tale of identity, memory, and colonial reckoning. With Ariāna Osborne, Toby Stephens, Umi Myers, Erroll Shand. Jordan Moone
1859, North Yorkshire. When young Maori woman Mary arrives from New Zealand, she’s trapped as governess to a wealthy whaler’s granddaughter. Living among her ancestors’ stolen artifacts, she uncovers Sir Cole’s horrific crimes. Embracing her Matakite powers, Mary becomes Marama and must save Anne and avenge her family by destroying him.
Grand Jury Prize: Scariest Feature Film, Overlook Film Festival
Official Selection: TIFF
““Mārama,” a striking feature debut by Taratoa Stappard, bills itself as a Māori gothic and the combination works… a good ride with first-rate cinematography and production design.” (Los Angeles Times)
““It does what horror movies do best, twisting film form into a tool for dissection. Both of its subjects and the audience, the culture, the society that produced such nightmares and bore them on the silver screen for all to see and shudder.” (The Film Experience)
““Handsomely staged and delivers an energetic bloodlust that more haughty prestige films may have shied away from.” (Film Inquiry)
1859. When a young Māori woman is summoned from New Zealand to North Yorkshire, she uncovers her horrific colonial heritage and is compelled to confront and destroy the titled Englishman who devastated her family.
- IMDB
