Romola Garai’s “Amulet”

Amulet (2020)

Brooding gothic horror led by a terrific performance from Alec Secareanu, haunting cinematography from Laura Bellingham and a terrific script from Garai herself

Telling the story of Tomaz, a refugee from an unspecified war zone in Europe. Working as a labourer in London, we get glimpses in flashback to the past from which he is running and in particular, his time manning an isolated checkpoint on a road within a forest where he discovers an amulet. Over the course of the film, the pieces of the puzzle come horrifyingly together in the best way.

Alec Secareanu puts in the core performance on which the film hinges and it’s fantastic. Supporting roles from Carla Juri, Imelda Staunton, and Angeliki Papoulia are also good even if Staunton does occasionally come across as a bit exaggerated.

Written and directed by Romola Garai, this is her feature film debut and it bodes well for the future and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next. A fresh new voice that can stand among the other great new female directors in the genre like Rose Glass, Charlotte Colbert, Ana Lily Amirpour, Julia Ducournau, and Jennifer Kent,