PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Forgiveness is the title of the movie, but it is not the name of the game for filmmaker Alex Kahuam’s latest endeavor. After premiering at Arrow FrightFest 2021 this past August, Forgiveness continues to beguile audiences along its festival run, and the most recent to experience Alex’s work were those enjoying the selections for Grimmfest 2021 out of Manchester, England.
In 2020, Alex Kahuam presented Red Light, a short film focusing on the uber-irritating culture consumed with social media, their likes, and their delightful demise at the hands of horror icon Ted Raimi. Yes, you read that right – Ted Raimi slaughters social media influencers, and it’s glorious.
Shifting gears for his feature, Forgiveness, Alex combines dread and atmosphere nearly devoid of dialogue with the precision pacing of a demented conductor. You can never really settle in comfortably, because around every corner, you are increasingly challenged.
Three young women wake up separately, terrified, and find themselves in a hell that is incredibly difficult and dangerous to navigate. Magnea (Jessica Ortiz) awoke mute, Aisha (Alejandra Zaid) can no longer hear, and Camilla (Alejandra Toussaint) has lost her sight. In a sinister, surreal deserted hospital, the women must experience bizarre and brutal encounters as they desperately search for escape.
Forgiveness is a mysterious, ambitious, micro-budgeted gem that offers a uniquely terrifying viewing. The score, courtesy of Alonso Cacho, and at times, the silence, serve as key tools in unnerving audiences within its three chapters and a devastating epilogue. Dreamy lighting, striking cinematography from Diego Cacho, solid acting, and effective editing help round out this fever dream of a film.
Alex has cited the works of Dario Argento and David Cronenberg as big influences, and the whole concept for Forgiveness was conceived through an unfortunate car accident Kahuam suffered. For those that don’t dig their horror with heaps of metaphors, this one may not be for you. But for those that are a bit more adventurous and enjoy a more subversive style of storytelling, Forgiveness will surely be your cup of tea.
Indie horror distributor Black Mandala has acquired the rights to Forgiveness and further release details will be announced soon!
