Māori and gothic horror are major tick boxes for me, particularly when I see an image like the one above.

Taratoa Stappard’s lush and dark tale of the horrors of colonisation lives up to expectations, particularly when the power of Mary (Ariana Osborne) and Māori culture is allowed to shine.

In 19th century England, Mary is summoned to a remote Yorkshire mansion, enticed by a letter that implies she will receive information about her parentage. There are shades of Jane Eyre in the gloomy mansion, with ghostly apparitions in reflections and long corridors dimly lit by flickering candlelight.

The Mr. Rochester of this story, Nathaniel Cole (Toby Stephens) is not a nice man. He pretends to be patrician, convincing Mary to take on the role of governance to his niece Anne (Evelyn Towersey). Mary is reluctant – wouldn’t you be with all of the spookiness and weird appropriation of Māori culture? – but she sticks around long enough through her desperation to find out who her parents are.

Cole and his right hand tribally tattooed man Jack (Erroll Shand) are not good men. We see this through flickering flashback as Mary‘s second sight allows her to ‘walk backwards into the future’ and see glimpse of her ancestors.

The pivotal scene in the centre (above) where Mary wears an elaborate red gown and her fury builds into a magnificent outburst of power is one of the most gripping scenes of the film, and something I was perhaps hoping for more of.

The moments where we see the black sand beaches of New Zealand, and see Mary‘s mother and sister and grandmother speaking lends an elegance to this that is sometimes missing in the more melodramatic scenes set in England. I did hope for slightly tighter editing that might sweep us up in the moment without being so aware of the theatricality of the sets and performances.

It builds to a beautifully red ending and over the end credits, a lament in Te Reo Māori sung by the director‘s mother, opera singer Hannah Pareunuora Tatana who inspired him to tell the story.