2022 has been an excellent year for horror movies. From new entries in well-established franchises like SCREAM to independent movies that became box office monsters, like Barbarian and Terrifier 2, there’s something for everyone in 2022’s crop. The only problem with a year filled to the brink with exciting horror productions is that it becomes easier to completely miss some great movies that didn’t have extensive marketing campaigns. That’s the case of Anita Rocha da Silveira's Medusa, a Brazilian horror movie that deserves much more love than it got.
While Medusa premiered at 2021’s Cannes Film Festival, it was only in 2022 that the movie got a wide release beyond festivals. In the United States, Medusa got a limited theatrical run starting on July 29 before becoming available on-demand on several digital platforms. Maybe Medusa’s lack of attention is due to its shy theatrical release, or maybe it’s because foreign films have a harder time on the US circuit unless they already have some recognizable names involved. Even so, the fact is that Medusa remains unknown. So, before the year is over, we are here to tell you Medusa is the best 2022 horror movie you didn’t even know existed.
What Is ‘Medusa’ About?
Medusa follows a gang of young Christian women who wear masks and go out at night to hunt sinners. On their list of targets are lesbians, feminists, and even women who dare to walk alone at night without adequately covering their bodies. United by their fate in God, the gang finds women they see as sinners, beats them up, and forces them to record videos where they promise a complete conversion to Christianity, which means they will become devoted to their husbands and families. It’s a brutal process of violence and humiliation enacted by women and targeting other women, which already sets Medusa apart from other feminist horror movies. That’s because, while Medusa underlines how women are victims of an orthodox religious society, it also shows how they can contribute to their own oppression.
One night, an attack goes wrong, and one of the gang members, Mari (Mari Oliveria), has her face cut with a knife. The event leads Mari into a spiral of shame and regret as she wonders how fair her punishment is. On top of it all, Mari comes in touch with an evil spirit that forces her to act against religious prescriptions, a process that ultimately proves to be freeing. Medusa explores Mari's journey, using her possession to discuss how religion can be a tool to maintain the status quo. The movie is also about how women’s obedience in patriarchal societies leads them to bottle up rage and frustration until it consumes their souls or the people around them.
Why Should ‘Medusa’ Be on Your Horror Watchlist?
First of all, Medusa is astonishing. João Atala’s cinematography is a sight to be seen, engulfing each frame with a supernatural gleam that helps to set the mood for the weird things we witness in the movie. Horror is the natural home for everything that’s transgressive, and Medusa's use of color and light already makes it an easy recommendation on style alone.
Rocha da Silveira’s script also makes Medusa well-wroth your time. Besides being a solid entry in the history of feminist horror, Medusa also serves as a registry for a grim period in Brazil. That’s because the movie doesn’t hold any punches when denouncing the militarization of Evangelical churches, which train young men as soldiers to fight against evil in the end times. This inhuman process usually molds highly aggressive individuals that often are involved in public displays of violence against sinners. And make no mistake, the musical presentations inside churches telling devotees to blindly trust religious leaders in politics are not satire but a faithful portrait of contemporary Brazil.
Medusa also asks what role women can play in this repressive environment. Unfortunately, the answer is disturbing, as what is asked of women is to listen closely to what the men from the church have to say and take care of their looks to better serve at home. This structure that orders women to lower their heads and obey results in abominations such as make-up tutorials to hide black eyes. And while these disturbing moments might make Medusa look like it’s set in a dystopian society, there’s nothing in the movie regarding religion that isn’t based on real stories. So, Medusa is a must-watch movie because it allows US horror fiends to learn more about Brazilian religious culture. It also serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of mixing politics and religion.
'Medusa' Subverts Horror Tropes
While the background of Medusa is already rich enough for us to recommend it, the movie also subverts expectations regarding horror tropes. Since the movie follows religious and faithful people, Medusa uses the demonic possession trope to justify the changes the protagonist goes through. However, the nature of this possessor spirit is unusual since the force that drives Mari away from church is the image of a disfigured woman (Bruna Linzmeyer) whose scars are the fruit of an attack by a Christian zealot.
When Mari is scarred herself, she must come to terms with the pain she caused other women, and her case of possession leads her to break free from repression. From expressing her sexual desire to accepting her curly hair, Mari starts to realize there’s a better life beyond religious rules, one where she can unleash her rage and build a life of her own. In other words, the possession in Medusa is an awakening, which shows how much Rocha da Silveira breaks the mold with her new movie.
Medusa is far from perfect. For example, the pacing can be uneven, and Medusa might challenge patientless viewers with a 129 minutes runtime. And sure, at some moments, it becomes clear that Medusa puts style above substance. Still, the movie offers an intriguing story of rage and female liberation while also serving as a grim portrait of militarized religion in Brazil. So, while Medusa doesn’t get everything right, it’s thought-provoking, bewitching, and does something unique with the horror genre. For those reasons, Medusa is on our list of best horror movies released in 2022. And even if you have probably never heard about it, there are many reasons to give it a chance.