Not Rated
Runtime: 1hr 29min
Written & Directed by Taratoa Stappard
Stars: Ariana Osborne, Toby Stephens and Umi Myers
Premiered at TIFF September 7, 2025
Released in US theaters (limited) April 17, 2026
RT: 100% critics / 81% audience
Synopsis
Mārama journeys to England from New Zealand when she receives a letter from a mysterious man claiming to know the secrets of her past. When she arrives she quickly realizes she has been misled, but is forced to stay on at a castle surrounded by pilfered articles from her homeland and a creepy man who knows much more about her past than he’s letting on.
Corrections
While editing I realized I misspoke about two things (at least!) on this episode. I catch things while editing all the time, but usually I just beat myself up over them. This time I thought I’d issue a correction, even though I realize most listeners don’t look at the website. Sometimes my mouth says the wrong word despite my brain knowing the correct one, y’know?
It’s the Toronto International Film Festival, not Independent.
Bluebeard is the wife-murdering guy in the folktales I was talking about, not Blackbeard. Pretty sure Blackbeard is just a pirate.
Thank you for your attention to these matters.
Join us again in two weeks when we’ll be reviewing Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which is currently in theaters.
Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/