THE REMEDY (2025)

4 stars

SXSW London, World Premiere. 4th June

Two men enter a room where a light is flickering. One is Jason (Tim Granaderos), the other a police officer — who is attacked by an unseen force and killed. Jason is attacked by tentacles. It is just a nightmare …

We are in Glendale CA in 1988: Jason has given up his job and is caregiver for his bed bound terminally ill mother Maria (Jenny O’Hara). He also looks after his sister Rachel (London Thor, THE BOYS) who stays in her room much of the time. She is bipolar and on meds. Whilst closeted away she is constantly chanting what sound like demonic invocations, which she believes might cure her mum.

They live in an old house packed to the gills with odd objects, weird artefacts and strange paintings — many of which look satanic. Jason is also on pills as he sometimes sees things and is plagued by nightmares. It is being recommended his mother is moved to a nursing facility. But he says she doesn’t trust doctors and believes in homeopathic solutions. She has weeks to live at most, but her son is determined to respect her wishes and look after her.

He finds something in the basement being eaten by maggots — his sister’s pet cat. There are also a bunch of tabloid newspapers with headlines like ‘Elvis Lives!’ and ‘Aliens over London!’. In one of them is an article about an Ancient Herbal Remedy with the name Leif Johansen circled in the text. A revered holistic healer. He also discovers a bottle of Johansen’s remedy, which Mum has clearly ordered, and instructions of how to prepare it. Nothing ventured…

There is also a VHS with a video with Johansen (Doug Jones) explaining the secret cure he has found which involves spirits entering the afflicted person — a healing spirit which kills off the disease … as long as it is nourished. Which possibly should have been the first clue that this probably shouldn’t be messed with.

He gives it to his mum to drink and next day she appears much better! Of course Rachel thinks she is responsible. As Mum quaffs more of the mixture she gets a taste for raw steaks.

Jason mixes up more and more of the solution and she gets much better rapidly. Then something unexpected happens which Jason has no choice but cover it up…

As proceedings get progressively bloodier, director Alex Kahuam does create a certain atmosphere of dread and fear even if much of it is a touch heavy handed and unsubtle, with an over reliance on tricksy spinning camerawork with lots of odd angles. Granaderos gives a committed but wildly histrionic performance as he spirals into madness. Is what he is seeing real? It is grisly, gory and somewhat ridiculous by the end.

Steve Kirkham