[Film Review] Welcome to the Blumhouse: Double Feature The Manor & Madres (2021)

The second double feature release from Amazon Studios and Welcome to the Blumhouse tackles eugenics, ghosts, cool viney demons, and old age with a glossy sheen and few scares. Similar to the first double feature featuring Gigi Saul Guererro’s Bingo Hell and Maritte Lee Go’s Black as Night there are a few interesting ideas and compelling performances within the frames of Madres and The Manor that ultimately get bogged down with poorly executed horror tropes and narratives that need longer in the oven to realize their full potential. 

Despite the immense talent represented in the direction, writing, and acting of the four horror films in this series of Welcome to the Blumhouse, there is a tame nature to the tone and aesthetic that will definitely appeal to a broader audience but may not work for horror fans who prefer darker fare. 

The Manor

Axelle Carolyn’s sass-filled The Manor pleases with eerie imagery, an original concept, and an ending that actually surprises. Featuring stellar performances from the radiant Barbara Hershey and devilishly handsome Bruce Davison, The Manor gives its actors room to make the most of the material they’ve been given. 

After a minor stroke, former dancer Judith voluntarily checks herself into a nursing home to avoid being what she perceives is a burden to her daughter and grandson. Once there, she is slowly deprived of her freedom as she is gaslit into believing that she’s descending into dementia.

The idea is terrifying, especially considering the way older people are generally treated in the U.S., and for anyone who has a fear of mental decline, this will hit home. Hershey is, as always, a shining light, her relationship with her grandson is adorable and Judith is the epitome of a strong lead as she refuses to be treated as a broken woman, giving attitude at every turn to the condescending nurses and manor director. 

As Judith struggles to maintain her good sense and make friends with some of the spryer residents, her tenuous relationship with her daughter makes things harder when she begins to uncover what could be an ominous threat within the home. Her nights are filled with terrors as her roommate is plagued by a shadowy figure, and her days are spent struggling to maintain her grasp on reality. 

The Manor has a lot going for it, mainly in the form of meaty roles for actors who deserve them, and an ending that thoroughly pleased this reviewer. 

Madres

The last in the series is Madres from director Ryan Zaragoza and writers Marcella Ochoa and Mario Miscione. The movie follows a couple expecting their first child as they move to a small town for the husband’s new job managing a farm that employs immigrants. Immediately upon arrival strange things start happening as Diana (Elpidia Carrillo) explores the belongings of the couple who previously occupied their house. As Dina discovers the secrets behind the town’s tragic pregnancy statistics, her delivery date looms, and she must expose the truth before it’s too late. 

Madres is a ghost story, but also a story of xenophobia and the psychological effects of constantly being treated as an outsider. The biggest issue with the movie is the sense that the story would have been best told in a traditional dramatic format. The horror elements feel shoehorned in, utilizing cliché jump scares and predictable imagery. And while the themes explored within the narrative are incredibly important, they don’t translate to the screen in any scary or compelling way. 

The shining moments in Madres come from the interaction between Dina and her husband, Beto (Tenoch Huerta) as they are believable characters who really care for each other. But beyond that, there are far too many recycled ideas to make this a good horror movie, and the crucial societal issues the movie attempts to address become lost within the jumbled plot and slow pacing.

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