2023 Chicago International Film Festival Movie Review: Raging Grace

Raging Grace is a relentlessly suspenseful horror story about the immigrant experience in London.

Raging Grace takes place in a posh neighborhood in London. Undocumented Filipina Joy (Max Eignemann, in a tremendous performance) makes a living by being a maid of the upper class and sleeping in their homes while they are out of town with her rascally daughter Grace (Jaeden Paige Boadilla). When Joy gets a call for her latest job, it takes her to an old Victorian mansion where Katherine (Leanne Best) is taking care of her ailing uncle (David Hayman). Joy gets her own room in the mansion and will be able to make enough money to help her become legal, but she must move in without Katherine knowing about Grace. As Joy works throughout the days and Grace starts lurking in places she shouldn’t, the two discover some terrifying and threatening revelations that could put them in jeopardy.

Director Paris Zarcilla smartly and seamlessly blended several genres and stories together in Raging Grace, which gives the film layers of suspense. This is an immigrant story told through the eyes of Joy. She’s a hard worker, doesn’t mean any harm, and is only trying to give her daughter the best life she can. Yet must walk on eggshells wherever she works and wherever she goes because anyone at any point could discover that she is undocumented, and she could be sent back to the Philippines. We also see how she is treated by upper-class white people, who display moments of racism towards her.

And then we have a Boy Who Cried Wolf story regarding Grace and the relationship between Joy and Grace. Grace is always up to shenanigans. She’s always playing pranks on her mom like switching out her coffee or popping out and giving her mom (and the audience) a jump scare. So, when Grace starts exploring the house, without her mother’s approval, and starts to see weird things around the house, she tries to tell her mom, but Joy doesn’t believe her because of her past shenanigans. Even though Grace seems to cause Joy more stress than she cares to want, you always feel the love Joy has for Grace and you know that she would do anything to keep her daughter safe and protected.

This is also an eerie haunted house movie once Joy gets hired by Katherine. The mansion she works in is big, old, creaky, and full of secrets that are slowly revealed throughout the film. Zarcilla utilizes wide angles and deep focus to showcase the grand mansion. Joy always seems so small in any room she is in and the extra space in the camera frame always has your eyes looking around to see if someone or something is going to come out and surprise you. Zarcilla does a great job blending these stories and themes together and each one adds a layer of tension to the film. You’re always on your toes and you can never predict what is going to happen.

Led by Eignemann’s excellent performance and smart direction by Zarcilla, Raging Grace is a tension-filled, well-made horror movie about the immigrant experience and the mother-daughter relationship.

Raging Grace played in the After Dark program at the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival.

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