‘In My Mother’s Skin’ Sundance 2023 Review – Twisted Filipino Fairy Tale Never Lives Up To Its Premise

Growing up can be tough. For some kids, it’s bullying. For others, it’s puberty. For Tala (Felicity Kyle Napuli), it’s watching your father go off to fight in a war while your mother slowly transforms into a flesh-eating demon because of a deal you made with a mysterious fairy. What can you do?

Set in the Philippines during the tail end of World War II, In My Mother’s Skin immediately pulls you in with its unique aforementioned premise. Rarely do we see a horror film featuring Filipino characters, let alone a period piece set and shot in the country itself. Furthermore, outside of the twisted fairy tales of Guillermo Del Toro, children’s fantasy is similarly untapped in the genre. All of these factors set Kenneth Dagatan’s sophomore feature apart from anything featured at this year’s Sundance Film Festival (where it was just acquired by Prime Video), even within the always outrageous Midnight section. It’s a shame, then, that the final product can’t quite live up to a stage this well-set.

The film begins by establishing its political backdrop. Aldo (Arnold Reyes) is a merchant importer working under the authoritarian Antonio (Ronnie Lazaro), who believes Aldo knows the location of stolen gold. Believing his family is in danger––the film vaguely implies but never explicitly states that Aldo has the fortune––he leaves them in search for a way out of the country. This leaves his wife, Ligaya (Beauty Gonzalez), and her two children, Tala and Bayani (James Mavie Estrella), to fend for themselves as their food supply dwindles. 

Many of the finer contextual details are left to be lived in, giving the sense that Dagatan, who also wrote the film, has a deep personal understanding of this time and place. However, the story doesn’t perfectly translate the appeal (or rather, lack thereof) of the period to newcomers. All that being said, Dagatan’s limited perspective does firmly plant the film in Tala’s point of view. Her awareness of the outside world is vague, as is ours. Russell Morton’s sepia cinematography matches this; many shots feel like seeing the world through her eyes.

Ultimately, all that matters to Tala is her family. When Ligaya is overwhelmed by a mysterious illness that leaves her pale and bedridden, Tala’s inability to effectively care for her makes everything seem hopeless. This psychological torment transports her into the presence of a Fairy goddess (Jasmine Curtis-Smith), who claims to have a cure for her mother’s condition. Decked out in a heavily crafted, if not a bit too homemade, costume by designer Carlo Tabije, its frightening voice contradicts a warm and friendly face. “I’m your friend,” it says, offering her an answer to all of her problems.

Desperate for help, and surely a bit hypnotized by the winged creature, Tala takes the cure and feeds it to her mother. Little does she know that it will not have the desired effect; Ligaya quickly hollows into a rabid demon, hungry for human flesh. Dagata’s precise directorial style captures the shocking transformation with palpable, surrealist fear. The prosthetics, makeup, and visual effects blend together seamlessly, adding a new dimension to Gonzalez’ committed bodily performance. 

However, once the initial reveal is made, the stakes of the horror stagnate. The threat of Ligaya’s presence looms over the rest of the film, but the same genre beats are replayed over and over with no progression, a problem exacerbated by Dagata’s slow-burn pacing from scene to scene. It’s frustrating to wade through the build up, only to continuously feel like the film can’t break through its own ceiling. The fact that the film’s political subplot becomes a reasonably loaded distraction from the flesh-eating demon should give you an idea of its effectiveness.

However, the stolen gold only takes us so far. Though gripping in its novelty when juxtaposed to the horror elements, the ensemble is too flatly characterized to elevate the suspense. Much of the film’s intrigue centers on Amor (Angeli Bayani), the family’s maidservant, yet her limited screen time up to this point makes her choices feel weightless. Her backstory is vaguely coded, leaving little for the audience to invest in, and the resulting drama is upsetting in a way that feels unearned. This is all especially tragic given the cast is excellent, particularly Napuli and Estrella as brother and sister.

Quickly framed as a monkey’s paw parable with a dose of anti-Christian commentary and coming-of-age tragedy, In My Mother’s Skin primes you for a creative explosion of intimate storytelling. However, its lack of genre thrills and definitive writing muddies Dagatan’s distinct directorial voice. His deep understanding of the generational trauma from this period doesn’t resonate beyond surface level symbolism. It goes to show that it’s not about your wealth of knowledge, or your passionate auteurism, or even your flesh-eating fairy. It’s about how you use them.

In My Mother’s Skin had its World Premiere in the Midnight section of Sundance Film Festival 2023. It will be released later in 2023, courtesy of Prime Video.

Director: Kenneth Dagatan

Writer: Kenneth Dagatan

Rated: NR

Runtime: 97m