We actually haven’t had too many Indigenous Australian horror on our screens. There’s ghost story anthology The Darkside, more recent anthology Dark Place, outback vampire romp Firebite on the small screen, Tracy Moffatt’s annoyingly hard to find BeDevil, and not too much else. We can now add another to the list with the upcoming The Moogai.
How to watch The Moogai in Australia
The Moogai hits Australian cinemas on October 31, appropriately enough.
The Moogai
What is The Moogai about?
Writer and director Jon Bell adapts and expands his 2021 short of the same name (available to watch on SBS on Demand), giving us the story of successful Indigenous lawyer Sarah, who is welcoming a new baby with her carpenter husband, Fergus. What should be a happy occasion is marred by the spectre of the Moogai, a child-stealing monster whose coming is prophesied by Sarah’s birth mother, Ruth. After a difficult birth, Sarah is plagued by disturbing visions. Is it simple post-partum depression or something more supernatural? Well, this is a horror movie…
The cast of The Moogai
Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires) is Sarah; Meyne Wyatt (also The Sapphires) is Fergus; Tessa Rose (Top End Wedding) is Ruth; Clarence Ryan (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) is Fergus’ larrikin brother, Ray Boy; and Bella Heathcote (Relic) is Sarah’s colleague and friend, Becky. Plus there’s Toby Leonard Moore, Christian Byers, Alexandra Jensen, Jahdeana Mary, Mary Torrens Bell, Precious Ann, Tara Morice, Nic Cassim, Luke Ford, and Eden Falk in support.
The Moogai trailer
Why we’re excited about The Moogai
While The Moogai won the Audience Award for Best Australian Feature at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, and the $100,000 Film Prize at Western Australia’s CinefestOZ, critical response has been mixed, and we’re with the critical consensus on this one. Despite a powerful central allegory about the Stolen Generations, plus a powerhouse performance from Sebbens, The Moogai is a pretty patchy offering. Your mileage may vary, of course.
