Indie Film Review “Kaishaku” Ancient tradition, the weight of guilt, and supernatural horror cross paths with high effectiveness
WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW:
First, the Recap:
When life has suddenly become far more a burden than a boon, what are we willing to do in order to see it restored to the latter? Striving to maintain any sense of positivity that things WILL get turned around, the embattled atmosphere we face as more and more starts going wrong only seems to get stronger and impossible to overcome. In the midst of this, if a road to recovery is presented that puts us outside all of who we are, will we reject it…..or choose to risk more than we realize for the sake of our own peace of mind?
With a past that is already unsettled, Iris (Stefanie Estes) is now encountering the realities of a present state of disquiet, with financial struggles being the prime force bearing down on her, husband Jackson (Robbie Allen), and innocently troubled son Graham (Archer Anderson). As things continue to spiral downwards, an offer comes into the light through a childhood friend and now school counselor Bridgette (Alyshia Ochse). However, what it entails, plus the ramifications if the actions taken fail, are frighteningly beyond anything Iris could anticipate.
Next, my Mind:
Heralding from core concepts of “seppuku”, “kaishaku” and “kaishakunin” found in old world Japan’s age of the samurai which are then adeptly infused with a contemporary supernatural horror element that delivers a raw, grounded, dramatic, engaging, and unique twist on the genre mashup it represents, this well-paced, character-driven, 104-minute feature film from Azoulay Pictures, director/producer Harry Locke IV, writer Mike Gerbino, producers Alain Azoulay, William Reilly, Sasha Yelaun, and Robbie Allen, co-producers Alyshia Ochse and Stefanie Estes, along with executive producers Sharon Butler and Amit Yonay deftly conveys indie film’s narrative-centric execution in tandem with a slowly building, highly effective eerie atmosphere that very much serves to amplify the greater themes being explored. Screening October 10th as the Centerpiece film for the upcoming inaugural 2025 Film Festival At Hollywood Park (running 10/06-10/12), this critic firmly believes it will be an audience pleaser and more than solid addition to the Festival’s lineup.
Following the life struggles of a wife/mother and her family in the throes of serious financial instability, a disquieting proposal she’s offered that would solve her concerns, and the desperation of this decision that subsequently takes her down an even more disturbing path, the film, as hinted above, truly marches forward with steadfast intent and intelligent design so as to make us realize this simply isn’t your “standard” drama OR horror fare. Rather, as also mentioned earlier, these foundational styles merge all while still remaining focused on, and not sacrificing, character and story development to keep the viewer’s attention. I am so appreciative of this fashion of direction, as it would have been so easy to allow this effort to devolve into something more “cliché”. Instead, it is the utilization alone of a bygone ritualistic, traditional, and still to this day unsettling, practice from the East that automatically lends itself to the film’s originality, beautifully written mood and tone, and ultimately creepy horror aspects that, yes, have SOME familiarity, yet at the same time, are totally fresh and welcome.
What then established, for me, another layer of true quality here was the fundamental theme that anchors the entire narrative….guilt. HOW this component becomes so integral to the story is part of the film’s baseline premise once it comes about, and it only makes the events we witness from that point on all the more applicable and relevant on top of the sheer jarring reality of WHAT the main circumstance was in the first place. It’s excellently depicted in a manner that leaves you thinking ABOUT what it would even BE like to encounter this scenario, WHY you would ever believe any amount of personal trials would warrant ACCEPTING such a deal, much less to then experience the aftermath in a multitude of forms that will, quite literally, come back to haunt you! There is also an employment of brief but imperative flashbacks that adds to Iris’ character’s plight, a degree of past trauma and rather disturbing recollections of it that likewise form this consistently growing aura of spectral and inner unease. There’s another glorious curveball revelation involved here which I can’t mention for sake of this being a “no spoiler” zone. It’s a beaut, though!
Other thematic forays exist within all of the chaos that ensues, including notions of overt stress, coping, buried hurts, an entirely new take on “blood money”, all we try to do to justify even the most unnerving choices, living in fear but then being released from it, how we are changed and influenced by what surrounds us, seeking forgiveness and/or absolution, admitting our own faults, and the genuine value of protecting and HONORING family first before making potentially rash decisions moving forward are but some of what is on display throughout the film’s runtime. Â The finale we’re provided is one that honestly felt SO satisfying in that it not only encapsulated all we’ve seen the lead character go through, but then purposefully leaves a particular final moment to conjecture, really hitting you with a cathartic yet evocatively sinister sense of gratification. Watch the film to learn how it all comes around! I think it’s more a tribute to the film’s genre-bending and well-formulated narrative that elicits such a statement about how it all ends. Frankly, it simply felt perfectly conceived for the tale.
Estes brings forth a completely apropos magnitude of vulnerability, emotive energy, quietly intense volatility, and credible overall accessibility through her role here as Iris, a woman decidedly under the gun who makes one choice that will end up altering her and her family’s lives for the better….and for the worst….all while then having to face the literal spirit of that which was left unfinished. Even as Iris is forced to find a path through what initially appears to be salvation but turns into anything but, she also must contend with ghosts from her own past and other inward conflicts that well up amongst the increasing amount of darkness that starts to envelop her and must be put to sleep….or otherwise threaten to consume all she knows and loves. The horror genre in itself can tend to be a place of OVER-acting, but here, Estes not only successfully navigates those frightening factors, but the dramatic ones as well, of course a testament to the veteran actress’ skills. I believe it’s that Estes makes the character realistic in the depiction of every emotional high and low Iris endures without it being melodramatic in any way.
Likewise, Ochse elicits feelings of aching sympathy and absolute shock, first magnificently embodying a woman on the edge and ready to be away from the world then morphing into a complete vision of direfully restless trepidation from beyond via her performance as Bridgette, a longstanding friend of Iris’ and counselor at her son’s school who knows about Iris’ state of affairs and makes an offer MOST would REFUSE in order to “help” her friend out. Once having managed to convince Iris to go through with the plan, things don’t quite go precisely to plan, and it sets of a chain reaction of supernaturally driven instances that ensure Bridgette wasn’t quite satisfied with the outcome that manifested. There were many truly ominous moments that the character appears in otherworldly form, and it’s that “make-you-feel-chills” kind of ambiance that gets carried off more than definitively well by Ochse. Funny enough, even before this all has come into play, the actress made the initial character have a sense of calm “menace” in her attitude, especially given the harsh act Bridgette is heading towards and wishes to have come to pass. A great performance.
Primary supporting roles come first through Rob Kirkland as Mark, Bridgette’s somewhat enigmatic and overtly…curious…husband who gets quite involved pursuing Iris at one point to find out what her involvement with things really is, to possibly deadly ends, even though he himself might not be such a saint in it all. Allen as Iris’ husband Jackson, a totally affable and supportive husband who only wants his family to be secure, financially and otherwise. Even as he tries to make this their reality, little does he realize what’s really going down….until it could be too late. Anderson plays Graham, Iris and Jackson’s young son who has his own levels of emotional issues he must handle, which only get escalated when events involving his doting mother take a hard and soon dangerous turn.
Alain Azoulay is Frank, a local deli/convenience store owner whom Iris used to work for and whom she comes to in her initial time of need. Additional supporting turns are made by Haley Charles, Katherine Bouvier, James Jarosz, Sylvie LaVie Ruiz, Brandon Terrell, Bonita Elery, Matilda Jenkins, Vince Gonzalez, Giulia Eve Flores, Andrew Riley Stephens, Angela Fredriksson, Tyler Eckels, Kelsey Brocart, Mercedes Marcial, Walter Banasiak, and Terri O’Connell. So, in total, “Kaishaku” is an unconventional exercise in human drama and supernatural terror that transcends both of these genres while painting an unwavering and unapologetic tapestry encompassing the rashness of desperation, the heaviness of guilt, the need for contrition, and the dark roads that can come about when not thinking through the tangible, much less uncanny, consequences of our actions, past and present, and the impact they had or will have on all we know and care about.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
