Waking
Karma
Movie
Review
Directed by Carlos Montaner and Liz Fania Werner, 'Waking Karma'
was written by Liz Fania Werner, with music by Diego De Pietri and
cinematography by Carlos Montaner. It stars Michael Madsen, Hannah Christine
Shetler, Kimberly Alexander, and Bradley Fisher.
17-year-old Karma wants to avoid becoming like her longtime cult
leader, Father Paul D. Crandall, who is known for his efforts to find a way to
immortality through dangerous reincarnation rituals. When Sunny, Karma's young
mother, suddenly learns that Paul has returned to town to collect her daughter,
the two flee to a friend's safe compound. But their plans go awry when Paul
discovers them and imprisons them there. During a 12-hour period, he can use
her body as a vessel to reincarnate his soul through intense experiments aimed
at breaking Karma's spirit and awakening her ferocity. But his efforts to
change his daughter will create a version neither of them expected. Awakened
Karma opens with scenes of a ritualistic murder cult as the credits roll. Attached
is footage from newspapers with bold headlines about the cult's death toll and
the escape of its leader, Paul.
Seventeen years later, Karma stars Hannah Christine Shetler on
her seventeenth birthday, coincidentally enough. This leads to an argument with
her mother Sunny, played by Kimberly Alexander, who changes her name to avoid
association with her father. Indeed, such a conversation is like sending him an
invitation. A letter falls under the door saying that Paul, played by Michael
Madsen, is coming for his little girl. According to Sunny, the cops can't stop
him and will only make things worse, so they head to the rural compound owned
by Butch, played by Bradley Fisher, and Priscilla, played by Kristin Sloane.
Writer Liz Fania Werner and co-director Carlos Montaner want
everything to feel very ominous and foreboding. Unfortunately, it's actually
pretty clear that things aren't what they seem. Whenever the daughter asks about
her father's past activities or what is happening now Sunny throws stones. She
says it's for her own good, which is another red flag. Also, we don't know if
it was bad acting on Kimberly Alexander's part or if it was intentional, she
had to play an unreliable liar but never believes a word her character says. So
it is not surprising that Paul and his henchman Wendell claim that karma is
divine. Hitler was a vegetarian so she had to kill a rat and eat it.
That last one actually leads to Karma's second act of awakening,
as Karma goes through several trials to break her will and rebuild her into the
person her father wants her to be. She accepts what he says is her fate. If
you've seen more cult-based movies, you can probably guess what it is.
Werner and Montaner clearly have a lot to say about religious
oppression, whether cults or mainstream churches, especially women and sexual
harassment. It's all good if you make a play. But Waking Karma is supposed to
be a horror movie and the filmmakers put so much emphasis on the drama and
message of the movie that it never fails to scare.
The last half hour of Waking Karma offers some disturbing
moments, including a virginity test, that will make most viewers uncomfortable.
But it was too little, too late. The movie ends like a drama with horror here
and there. The lack of scares and the film's predictability didn't impress me
until the final scenes.
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