In a cinematic landscape crowded with reboots and sequels, every so often a trailer lands that demands your full attention with a slow-building sense of unease. The Surrender, set for release on 23rd May 2025, is exactly that kind of film. The trailer promises a journey rooted in the dangers of arrested grief and the inability of loved ones being able to process the finality of death.
The familiar theme of grief in horror gets a jolt of fresh, electrifying energy as a turbulent mother-daughter bond is pushed to its limits by the sinister occult forces it unleashes through loss. Writer-director Julia Max crafts a tightly wound atmosphere brimming with tension and emotional conflict. While supernatural elements propel the story forward. At the core lies a tumultuous relationship between Megan (Colby Minifie) and her mother, Barbara (Kate Burton), a woman torn between resentment and a fierce, if misguided, instinct to protect her daughter.
Megan returns home after a long time away to support her mother, Barbara who is adamant about caring for her ill husband, Robert (Vaughn Armstrong), as he lays in wait of death. The trailer features glimpses between moments of caregiving and confrontation, as Megan and Barbara clash over smoking, drinking and what should happen next. The tension between them is palpable, with Barbara especially resentful of Megan’s return. What initially appears to be a tender connection between Barbara and Robert gradually reveals a more unsettling undercurrent.
When Robert finally takes his last breath, Megan prepares to say goodbye, but Barbara calls in a shaman to resurrect her beloved. The intricate and extremely dangerous ritual, led by an intimidating, larger than life character referred to only as The Man (Neil Sandilands), prompts complete compliance that will prove the ultimate test for mom and daughter. The ritual yields a visceral horror experience.
Barbara clings to the only partner she’s ever known with a desperation that hints at her deep fear of being alone. The prospect of life without her husband is so terrifying that it pushes her toward unthinkable decisions, in a frantic attempt to preserve the fragile illusion of normalcy. Megan, meanwhile, finds herself confused and shocked by her mother’s decisions. Having been estranged for years, she had no idea of the codependence of her parents’ relationship, but she also doesn’t feel involved enough in their lives to interject.
The Surrender could easily qualify as the ultimate “Call-Your-Mother” cautionary tale. A stark reminder that trying to reconnect after years of estrangement can be perilous, especially within a fractured family dynamic. The film delves into this fraught reunion through the lens of horror, centring on a nightmarish black magic ritual that evokes echoes of 2016’s A Dark Song, complete with cryptic runes etched onto floors and a cascade of chaotic, unforeseen consequences.
About The Old Guard 2
Synopsis: When the family patriarch dies, a grieving mother and daughter risk their lives to perform a brutal resurrection ritual and bring him back from the dead.
Genre: Horror • Drama • Thriller
Director: Julia Max
Stars: Colby Minifie • Kate Burton • Neil Sandilands
Run Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Release Date: 23rd May 2025
