French Horror FilmKandishaFeels LikeCandyman‘s Little Sister

It ’s summer inParis , and three besties — Morjana ( Samarcande Saadi ) , Amélie ( Mathilde Lamusse ) , and Bintou ( Suzy Bemba)—are lazing through the days , party with friends , and put to work on theirgraffitimurals inside an empty apartment building that ’s scheduled for demolition . living is n’t double-dyed , but it ’s not terrible , something that changes swiftly when the teens bid a malefic spirit into their midst .

Specifically , it’sAméliewho muster up Aicha Kandisha after larn about her from Morjana ; she ’s “ a famous legend in Morocco , ” “ a beautiful woman who destroys men . ” After a persistent ex - boyfriend physically attacks her , an tortured Amélie works out her thwarting by scrawl a bloody pentagram and call off out to what she thinks is just afigure from a folk tale — something Morjana ’s brother dismisses as “ old - land bullshit . ” Turns out , of trend , that Aicha Kandisha is entirely real and unquestionably lethal ; once cabal , she materializes before Amélie ’s tormenter and give chase him into traffic . The girls are shaken , but despite Amélie ’s shrewish sense of dread , the timing of her ex ’s death feels like a conjunction … until others in their share celestial orbit — all men , in maintain with Aicha Kandisha ’s modus operandi — take up dying horrible deaths . Slasher - moving picture style suspense build as you pop out to notice how many gentleman palisade the three young women — Father who are both kind and not - so - tolerant , friends , brothers older and young , the infant son stand to a yoke in their social circle as the movie progress — and enquire who ’ll be picked off next .

author - directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo ’s best - have it off late film is in all probability Inside — another female - centric horror plastic film , although in an entirely different direction ( it ’s about a adult female who becomes settle on on stealing a pregnant fair sex ’s baby ) . Kandisha takes certain recognizable cues fromCandyman : key view extend in a run - down flat column , and it sport a supernatural villain with a ) a tragical backstory , b ) a hunger for brute revenge , and c ) the ability to be marshal by anyone who repeats their name over and over . But where Candyman added astuteness to its flaming story with themes inquire America ’s racist past tense and present , Kandisha does n’t really dig into anything beyond “ Oh my god , our loved ones are dying and it ’s all my fault . ” And though its plot of land is fairly straightforward , it does n’t entirely hold together ; the last act , which should be its scariest crescendo , supplies plenty of gore ( the movie is definitely not shortsighted on that ) but otherwise proceeds precisely as you ’d expect .

Morjana (Samarcande Saadi), Amélie (Mathilde Lamusse), and Bintou (Suzy Bemba) ponder their terrifying predicament.

Morjana (Samarcande Saadi), Amélie (Mathilde Lamusse), and Bintou (Suzy Bemba) ponder their terrifying predicament.Image: Shudder

However , that ’s not to say you should cross Kandisha off your watchlist . Its setting — a working - class , not particularly glamorous side of Paris that ’s not unremarkably brought to the forefront — is both unique and vivid , and its character reference are n’t the sorting ofteens that unremarkably populatehorror movies . They feel like real people living realistically messy lives ( speak shit , smoking weed , arguing with their parents , blunder off , making art ) and the central friendly relationship has a lived - in tone that stimulate you sympathize why Bintou and Morjana would willingly involve themselves in Amélie ’s skittish incubus . ( The fact that the three girls playfully come to to each other as “ Black girl , ” “ Arab , ” and “ the white one ” paint a picture they ’re well aware of the cultural differences between them and are n’t incommode by them at all . Why should they be ? ) There ’s also a captivating subplot that emerges when the miss — who’ve realise the net is not a utile resource for fiend - related problems — manage to track down an exorcist imam who was banished from his mosque for practicing witchcraft . His screen time is abbreviated , but as impactful as you ’d want any character answering to that particular verbal description to be .

Kandisha premieres July 22 on Shudder .

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Amélie plots revenge.