Written and Directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo
Starring: Mathilde Lamusse, Samarcande Saadi, Suzy Bemba
Rated: R
Runtime: 85 minutes
Streaming exclusively on Shudder July 22

by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

The trend of creating films around folklore from different cultures is incredibly interesting. To be exposed to something that I have never heard of before typically makes me want to go on and research the roots of the film. In this sense, Kandisha was a success. It made me actively interested in the historical and folkloric roots of the story. However this might be the most interesting thing Kandisha has to offer, as the rest of the film is needlessly cruel and has no interesting mood or atmosphere. I wonder if this is another case of a film really needed the eye of a woman behind the camera or on the script to pull off some of what this film truly needs.

Kandisha is a French film that follows a group of teenage friends on their summer break. Amélie (Mathilde Lamusse) and her friends Bintou (Suzy Bemba) and Morjana (Samarcande Saadi) like to hang out, smoke, and tag the city with their art. Amélie is told the story of Aicha Kandicha, a Moroccan figure known to enact vengeance on terrible men. After Amélie is beat up and almost raped by her ex-boyfriend she summons this figure to help her get the revenge she seeks. However, Kandisha goes on to kill more people than she expected and when the ones that Amélie and her friends love are targeted they must figure out how to break Kandisha’s curse. 

Having little knowledge of Moroccan folklore made this was an interesting story to learn more about. While there are several stories about where her roots began, some believe she is based on a real historical figure who helped seduce and kill Portuguese soldiers. This figure is similar to a Jinn, a spirit that likes to punish humans for their wrong doings. This makes Kandisha one of the ultimate monstrous feminine archetypes so it makes sense that she would be an interesting entity to base a story around. One of the best aspects of the film is the look of Kandisha. She is typically shrouded in a dark cloth but as the film progresses she is revealed more and more to be both seductively dressed and have the legs of a goat. She is terrifying and tantalizing so her design is perfectly executed. However the film does set up the premise that she seduces men, drives them mad, and then kills them. Based on the film she rips through men before she has time to do little else so they do drop the ball on their initial set up. 

The biggest issue the film had was how needlessly cruel it is to its characters. They set up Amélie to be a young woman who was victimized by a terrible man. In a moment of weakness she calls upon Kandisha but cannot ultimately relish or enjoy freedom from her ex as friends and family soon start to die all around her. Her ex is the only real “bad guy” we see suffer in the film which tries to go out of its way to populate the film with decent male characters. The ex has the fastest and most painless death while the characters who do not deserve their fate are punished the most. I think the best horror populates its films with characters you want to die which also made this less fun to watch. The film was both written and directed by men and while they do create female characters that we like and sympathize with, their torture of them feels cruel and pointless, ultimately making this a less than enjoyable film to watch. The character development and moments of joy end within the first 15 minutes of the film and then we witness nothing but psychological torture porn. With its interesting female characters and amazing monstrous female demon it feels like a female creative would have breathed more life into this project. 

It is possible the film does have some message with its cruel treatment of the leads. Amélie is lovingly referred to by her girlfriends as the “white girl” because Bintou is black and Morjana is Moroccan. Ultimately this white lead takes something from the Moroccan culture she does not totally understand and it ruins her life and the lives of her friends. This idea of white people taking what is not theirs and being punished for it is an interesting and worthwhile idea to explore and horror is a great place to do it. However they do not fully explore these ideas or how this cultural appropriation affects her friendships. It is also clear that the film is trying to explore the idea that vengeance often turns you into a monster. While I relish in revenge films I understand wanting to explore the emptiness that comes from it. Perhaps having its lead relish in the deaths would have made this more of a focal point but even in that regard it fails. 

The filmmakers are considered to be a team at the forefront of New French Extremity. While I have not fully explored the French Extremity films, the few I have seen have not been my favorite so it's possible that it just was not my cup of tea and something was lost in translation. It does have some good horror elements. Kandisha’s design is very good and the monster effects look great. The gore of the film is also a lot of fun at times as this vengeance spirit does quite a number on the men she comes in contact with. It is a fine film that is well made I just wish I could have derived more joy from watching it.