‘Raging Grace’ Review – A Bloody Good Eat-The-Rich Horror Drama

Movies exploring the rich as a cruel force that devours everything in sight, and the meek inheriting have been having a moment lately. Class divides as a backdrop for narrative films is of course nothing new. Social and class division has been used as a plot device since the birth of cinema. Yet, in recent times, these movies feel more relevant. Why do billionaires exist when people are starving to death? Seeing films where the greedy rich get taken down, or exposed for the lowlifes they are, seems to resonate with a modern audience.

This year brought us Saltburn and The Lesson, both starring Richard E. Grant, with both films giving us a refreshing take on the ‘eat-the-rich’ genre. Keeping in this tradition, Raging Grace centers around a single parent named Grace (Jaeden Paige Boadilla), an undocumented immigrant who takes on a live-in housekeeping job to provide a better life for her daughter, Joy. She smuggles Joy into the sprawling mansion and must keep her a secret for the duration of the job. However, what seems like her and her daughter’s golden ticket to a new life, morphs into a creeping and clawing nightmare. Dark and horrific secrets are held within its walls, putting Grace and Joy in grave parrel.

Director Paris Zarcilla presents Raging Grace as a typical horror-outing that checks many trope boxes. Big creepy house? Check. Strange owners? Check. A mystery presented in said creepy house? Check. Yet, it’s brilliant in how, while the movie feels familiar on the surface, Zarcilla presents a movie that is scary as it is deeply moving. Grace is trying her best to work within a system that is not made for her and her daughter.

The movie is littered with the dehumanizing micro-aggressions that she is forced to endure simply to make ends meet. These scenes that are front-loaded not only a glimpse inside what it’s like for Grace, but it set the tone for more extreme racism and classism to come. Zarcilla isn’t afraid of symbolism to add depth to the narrative. For example, Joy being smuggled in a large suitcase is not unlike many people being smuggled over into the country, just looking for a better life. On the nose? Sure, but it’s scenes like this that bring into focus the struggles of people like Grace and Joy. Once Grace starts as a caregiver and housekeeper, the causal racism and xenophobia ramp up, making us consistently uncomfortable.

This is as much a character study as it is a horror romp. Joy is presented as a brat and as a character can be grating at times. Yet, we later learn that this acting out stems from a deep frustration at Grace for not allowing her to connect with her heritage. Hell, even the knowledge and identity of her father is kept a secret. What is a theme throughout this film is family secrets that lead to rot and ruin. The aspect of yearning for a cultural identity is fascinating, and something that you don’t see in a lot of movies, let alone in the horror genre. While this movie is a creepy locked-in thriller, it’s also a drama about a mother and daughter, and how they try to game a harsh and brutal system. This all builds to a finale that is utterly joyous and moving.

Raging Grace is stellar, but it is not without some issues. Some aspects of the twist aren’t exactly set up as well as they could have been. Big revelations are ever so lightly hinted at but feel like they come out of left field. There is a subplot about a former housekeeper that is highly interesting, but again, it isn’t set up so it feels almost like an afterthought rather than something carefully considered. There is also a sudden character change that moves the plot forward but again feels very out of nowhere. Having said that, the overall richness in theme, atmosphere, and brilliance of the finale helps one gloss over some of its writing shortcomings. As an overall experience, Raging Grace offers a fresh perspective on dusty genre tropes.

Zarcilla welcomes you to his table, and on silver plates serves up a bloody good eat-the-rich parable. With equal parts tension, hypnotic horror, and uncomfortable moments, Raging Grace (the first of his ‘Rage’ trilogy’) is a nearly perfect chiller.

Raging Grace is currently playing in select theaters courtesy of Brainstorm Media & Doppelgänger Releasing. The film will debut On Demand on December 8, 2023. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8agbvCHnHE]