Nocebo: Filipino Folk Horror, though this is an Irish/Filipino Co-Production and was shot in Dublin and the Philippines the Western parts of the film are set in London. Christine (Eva Green), is a fashion designer who is suffering from a strange illness for which she has to take multiple pills. We see how it started when she had a vision of a wild dog covered in ticks, one of the ticks bites her, perhaps it's all in her mind but her work is suffering as is her relationship with her husband Felix (Mark Strong) and daughter Bobs (Billie Gadsdon). A woman named Diana (Chai Fonacier), turns up claiming that Christine has hired her a carer/housekeeper, by this stage Christine had been subject to serious memory failures so she accepts it. Diana helps Christine with massages and exercises, she then moves on to to use Filipino folk healing techniques. However things take a darker turn after Diana sets up an altar in the fireplace in her room. There are parallel narratives at play in Nocebo, we also see Diana's life from childhood onward, how she developed folk healing skills and the many traumatic events which befell her. The switch from folk healing to folk magic is sharply portrayed, the stronger powers are used to torture and inflict. Pain. There are some really disturbing scenes, both everyday violence and suffering as well as that inflicted through supernatural means. Intricate rituals based on a syncretic religion are carried out. Not so many jump shocks but terror gradually builds up in front of your eyes, The split narrative is confusing at times but all coalesces for the finale. There are some plot twists but you'll have to watch Nocebo if you want to know about them. Directed by Lorcan Finnegan from a screenplay by Garret Shanley. 8/10.
