Luz: The Flower of Evil - Folk Horror at its Most Beautiful
Luz: The Flower of Evil was pitched to me as The Witch meets The Sound of Music on an acid trip and I mean…how can I turn that down? What I wasn’t expecting was an emotional and beautiful story that is both haunting and powerful.
Premise:
A small religious community lives in the middle of the mountains and beautiful hillsides of Columbia. Their leader is passionate and very strict in his beliefs, and his three daughters (two of which are adopted) are considered angels. The mother, Luz, passed away and has left a broken and empty hole in this family’s life. One day Uma finds a cassette tape in the woods and it sets up a terrifying set of events that leads to the implosion of this community and the chaining up of a child in the backyard who they believe is Jesus.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Rape and Miscarriage
“Nobody knows the devil better than I do.”
What I loved:
This truly is a beautiful film, every scene whether it be dark or light is a masterpiece thanks to Director Juan Diego Escobar Alzate and Cinematographer Nicolas Caballero Arenas. Every scene feels purposeful and there’s some amazing panoramic shots of this beautiful landscape. But there’s also some horrific shots filmed so beautifully that you feel somehow scared, disgusted and amazed at the same time.
This is also a deep character study on a man obsessed with his own version of faith, blinded by his devotion and unable to see anything differently. It’s also a study of his daughters and his believers. You can see those in the village and his own family who are starting to doubt, but are terrified of their own doubt. This is not a movie that holds your hand and walks you through the story, it wrestles with you and shows you things you can choose to believe or not believe. It’s folk horror at its finest.
There’s an interesting lesson here that I believe is being told; the habit of blaming God and the Devil for all of your good and bad experiences. No one in this movie really takes ownership of their own actions – it’s all because of God, or the Devil who has trapped you. But in reality – these are humans blindly putting their faith in something they cannot see, and in some cases making terrible and cruel decisions. It’s a great warning for us to not blindly follow but to take a step back and trust our own heart.
What’s most impressive about this movie, I believe, is the acting skills. Uma, played by Yuri Vargas, is breathtaking to watch as she pulls herself through terror after terror. El Señor played by Conrad Osorio is frighteningly good in this role, demanding you watch and listen every time he appears on screen. Zion played by Sharon Guzman and Laila played by Andrea Esquivel are also beautiful and powerful women gracing the screen in every shot they’re in.
“When there is harmony in nature there’s light, and nature is at peace and blooms.”
Overall:
Luz: The Flower of Evil is really like nothing I’ve seen before. There’s absolutely a few movies you could compare it to, but ultimately this story and way of telling it is incredibly unique. It is unnerving, it is brutal, it is emotional, and it is strangely addicting to watch. I highly recommend this for those that love a strange and delicious slow burn with a complex story that you are left to build in your own head.
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