Horror, Cult Movies, Exploitation Cinema, 70s Schlock, and more! Let’s look at something cool!

“See through my eyes… Look… See what I did for you…”

Synopsis: Summer break y’all! Three BFFs decide to spend their nights creating stunning graffiti art. But when one gets assaulted by her ex-bf, she calls on the Moroccan figure who gets vengeance on men. But the creature seems a little bit too interested in killing. Like, everybody, regardless of guilt or innocence. What next?

Genre: Foreign* Mythological Horror
*in French with subtitles
Year Released: 2020 (wide, 2021)
Pedigree: From the writers/directors of Inside
Where I Watched: Shudder

Fabulous or Frustrating?: Candyman gets a feminist spin in this slow burn-to-ZOMG horror. Mixing Moroccan mythology with modern day #MeToo, Kandisha has plenty to like for all sorts of film fans. Indie darling? This French language film dives into the world of lower class French girls in the inner city. Gorehound? Hoo boy, there’s a lot of red stuff. Character driven story addicts? The three BFFs go through a whole lot, and really dig into their relationship with each other as things go south.

Blood, you say? DEEEEAM. Yeah y’all. People get literally ripped apart, torn asunder, and meet other violent ends that require tons of red. The film eases you into the gore bit by bit, and then at the climax? Boom goes the bloody dynamite.

The only thing I can think of to ping this movie on, is that at the start of the carnage, the guys that end up as meat compost aren’t much more than Oh That Guy. As the film carries on, we get to know the characters better, and several of the deaths are truly heartbreaking. Some, because we’re invested in that character, others because we know how much that character means to someone else we’ve invested in.

Come for the look at a bloody Eastern myth. Stay for the way Kandisha upends the usual possession/exorcism tropes westerners are used to. Plus, get your gore on in a classy way: with subtitles!

Freak-O-Meter: 4 out of 5 Freaks