Raging Grace – Movie Review (4/5)

RAGING GRACE is a new horror thriller from the UK. Described as a “coming-of-rage” story, it deals with the very real issue of being an undocumented immigrant. Doing everything right, yet still being wrong. Read our full Raging Grace movie review here!

RAGING GRACE is a new horror thriller with a story that feels all too realistic in many ways. It deals with racism, class, and so much more. This is something we’ve seen a lot more of in the past decade or so. Whether you want to call it “elevated horror” or social commentary, it’s becoming more in-your-face than previously.

As it should be. I mean, it has been part of horror and genre movies forever, but now it’s told in more direct ways. Instead of symbolism provided by using monsters or aliens (as in extraterrestrials), we see actual humans for the monsters they can be.

Continue reading our Raging Grace movie review below. Find it in select theaters from December 1, 2023. Also, it will be On Demand from December 8, 2023.

A blessing or a curse?

In Raging Grace, we meet Joy (Max Eigenmann) who does her very best to not stand out. She does her job and tries to be as invisible as possible. As an undocumented Filipino immigrant, Joy has no other choice. She is struggling to support her daughter, Grace (Jaeden Boadilla).

Part of doing this means getting her visa, so they can actually “exist” in the country officially. However, this costs a lot of money and as an undocumented immigrant, you don’t get well-paying jobs.

Suddenly, things seem to take a turn for the much better. Joy gets the perfect job, where she becomes a live-in caretaker in a huge mansion. Though she’s to focus on housekeeping, she also ends up taking care of an extremely wealthy, but terminal, old man.

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Her new job both pays well and ensures her a place to call home. However, both Joy and Grace are about to discover that something is wrong in this big house. Before the movie is over, there will be several turns. One more brutal than the next.

Admittedly, I found Grace to be quite annoying as she is busy pranking her mom, Joy, who tries so hard to do everything perfectly. However, showing this side of Grace – which even includes a touch of having a mean streak – is important for the story. In that sense, it works perfectly for this movie.

Safety versus justice

This movie has been described as a “coming-of-rage” story by the filmmaker and I can definitely see why. Dealing with the very real issue of being an undocumented immigrant places our good-hearted main character in a brutal predicament. One where she can do everything right, yet still be wrong.

With a runtime of 1 hour and 35 minutes, Raging Grace has enough time to let us become familiar with the world, yet isn’t too long that there’s a lull in the movie.

For a long time, the horror and thriller elements are built around Joy trying to keep herself and her daughter, Grace, safe. It’s a life of safety, but one that is so unstable that she cannot risk anything. Even justice, because there isn’t much justice for an undocumented immigrant.

Is that fair, when all she does is serve and take care of people? Absolutely not. But it is the world we live in.

Watch Raging Grace in theaters or On Demand

Raging Grace was written and directed by the British-born Filipino filmmaker Paris Zarcilla. I didn’t know this when I watched the movie, but I am not surprised. Some of the words spoken by privileged white characters had the distinct feeling of being direct quotes.

Simple little details that can only be (and rightly so) described as microaggressions at best. And racism born of ignorance and indifference at best. Like mentioning the African country of Kenya while listing the Asian countries one loves. Or calling someone from the Philippines a “Philippine” rather than “Filipino”.

These a smaller details that horror fans don’t have to notice. But also part of the movie that anyone would do well to recognize. It’s all an integrated part of the story of immigrants. Raging Grace manages to evoke many feelings, but before an ending that offers some kind of hope, it delivers truly brutal horror.

Raging Grace is out in select theaters from December 1 and On Demand from December 8, 2023.

Details

Director: Paris Zarcilla
Writer: Paris Zarcilla
Cast: Max Eigenmann, Jaeden Paige Boadilla, Leanne Best, David Hayman