BA (2024) Fantaspoa 2024

This is a bittersweet supernatural fantasy has a father becoming the personification of death to remain with his daughter, however since he is death he can't let her know.

I went into this Fantaspoa film thinking it was going to be a straight on horror film, and instead it became a horror film of a different sort, one about the loss of the ones we love and the shortness of our time on earth. The result is a film that is greater than the scary poster implies.

This is the best sort of film, one about the people on the screen. The film works works because this is not so much a film about monsters, but about a father and daughter who love each other. Its a film about family and what we do to keep it together. Sure there are supernatural bits, but ultimately this is a well plotted family drama.

Writer director Benjamin Wong needs to be applauded for giving us something more than a scary movie. I was moved by BA. I wasn't expecting to be forced to think and consider weightier issues other than who lives and who dies. Instead I was forced to ponder life in a way that I wasn't used to doing. Wong beautifully takes the framework of a horror film and uses it the way the best films of the genre do and that is to shine a light on life in new and unexpected ways. Recently I was belittled on line because I said horror films should be more than just a series of jump scares and I was asked what horror films should be if not things that make us jump via a sudden loud noise. My answer was to mention films similar to BA where the dread is rooted in real fear  and not based on some one leaping out to say "boo". 

While I suspect anyone who wants jump scares every five minutes will be disappointed in BA, those looking for a truly creepy film that is more than a rollercoaster  are going to fall in love with it and the wonderful father daughter relationship at it's center.

Highly recommended