The Surrender

It's a very strong strong directorial debut... It's really fun to watch as an acting exercise, too.

“The Surrender” accomplishes a lot with a sketch-sized story and matching compositional agility and precision. It’s short (less than 90 minutes!) and sweet and the best kind of upsetting.

The Surrender is a solid horror film, but where it truly excels is in its wholly singular, authentic and deeply empathetic portrait of palliative caregiving, which – as anyone who has ever done it knows – is a nightmare in and of itself

Underneath the savage occult aspects of the story remains a constant exploration of what it means to see your loved ones as flawed, rounded humans, and ultimately as mortal.

To grief interpreted in this way, a visceral, thrilling and high-stakes vision without ever dampening the complicated, messy, and unglamorous nature of loss, marks Max as one to watch.

Max has some intriguing ideas, but she’s too willing to verbalize them with dialogue that sounds unnaturally intent on conveying theme instead of building character.

[...] if you’re here for an exploration of grief and the lengths that we are willing to go in the name of that grief, The Surrender is for you.

The film is at its best when sticking within the real world where familial bonds and memories are tested. Colby Minifie meets the moment of the outlandish emotional demands of the situation which are not fully rewarded with the supernatural elements.

[The Surrender will] sit with you for a while&#59; it's haunting, it's got creep factor and is fun and violent in all the right spots.

It is a uniquely American movie about how people destroy themselves for an empty promise that only hastens death and despair instead of living authentically and being an adult without having it all.