Where would modern Horror be without characters tearing open their chests to wallow in the cosmically unending cycle of grief? Death is the cornerstone of the genre but where classics of the genre were concerned with the fear of dying, contemporary cinema has largely fixed its gaze on the therapeutic journey of mourning. Julia Max’s grief procedural, The Surrender, is a meditation on the shifting memories of the ones we lose, the torturous journey of accepting the reality of that loss, and a gory odyssey through the hidden world of the occult. How far would you go to see your loved ones again?Â
Written and directed by Max, in her feature film debut, The Surrender concerns a mother and daughter desperately clinging to the frays of a tortured relationship in the wake of their patriarch’s passing. Megan (Colby Minifie, The Boys) left home before her father’s illness worsened but returning at the 11th hour, she finds her father helplessly frail and her mother, Barbara (Kate Burton, Big Trouble in Little China), oddly spiritual. Despite the at-home nurse’s insistence that they follow the prescribed doses for his pain medication, Barbara begins placing more importance on odd, homeopathic remedies, like placing offerings of hair, and teeth, and who knows what else under Robert‘s deathbed. And now, unwilling to simply let go, Barbara hires a shaman to perform an esoteric ritual….to bring Robert (Vaughn Armstrong, Coma) back from the dead.Â
“A torturous journey of accepting the reality of loss, and a gory odyssey through the hidden world of the occult.”
Fans of the indie sleeper hit A Dark Song (2016) will immediately recognize the set up. Cleanse your house, cleanse your body, cleanse your spirit, and brace yourself for an otherworldly experience that might break your reality. The mysterious stranger helping them navigate this bizarre ritual barely speaks a word and is the furthest thing from a sympathetic voice. His stare is piercing, his demands are non-negotiable, and his fee is astronomical. Nevertheless, this mystery man guides them both down a path that has no room for error, and no turning back. At first, Megan is polite, playing nice with her mom’s kooky new ideas, but once the strange tea and knifes come out, she knows she’s in too far.Â
Putting grief under a microscope is nothing new (I think all but one of the movies I’ve reviewed this year have been about grief) but how The Surrender approaches the everlasting memory of a loved one is very interesting. Even before her father’s death Megan is slip-sliding through time, revisiting memories, or having full-on conversation with the image of her father after he’s gone. And how those memories evolve as we revisit them throughout the film really highlights that other weird aspect of loss where the image you have built up of a person gets corrupted by new discoveries. As hampered as it is by well-travelled themes we know too well, writer/director Julia Max strives to find new roads to explore such a familiar route.Â
“As hampered as it is by well-travelled themes we know too well, writer/director Julia Max strives to find new roads to explore such a familiar route.”
The indie slow burn also features some gnarly practical effects with mangled bodies, split open like a gory slam shell, hands reaching out from inside looking to escape. It’s a killer visual and one that gets a lot of mileage as the world around Megan and Barbara grows darker. Trying not to hold my own exhaustion with subject against it, The Surrender is still a twisted tale of occult rituals, a time-bending exploration of memory, and a bloody deep dive into the murky water of grief. And one that I’m sure will resonate with anyone still working through that complex horrorshow of emotions.
Julia Max’s The Surrender celebrates it’s World Premiere at the 2025 SXSW film festival. Click HERE to follow our continued coverage of the fest, and let us know what you think happnens after you die over in The Official Nightmare on Film Street Discord.
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