Spooky Season is the time when we get an abundance of horror films. Screamfest is the best film festival to hit up if you want to get your fix. We’ve been enjoying the movies we’ve gotten to screen. Some are mildly scary, and some are terrifying. We can honestly say this latest film we watched was probably one of the most frightening we’ve seen in a while. The film we’re reviewing this time is The Weekend.
The Weekend, directed by Daniel Oriahi, is about “Nikiya (Uzoamaka Aniunohan), an orphaned woman yearning for a sense of belonging. She issues an ultimatum to her fiancé, Luc (Bucci Franklin): either introduce her to his estranged family or risk losing her. Reluctantly, Luc agrees, concealing the dark truth behind his family’s past to preserve their relationship. Upon meeting Luc’s family, Nikiya is initially enamored by their seemingly idyllic and welcoming demeanor. Their warmth temporarily quenches her longing for family, blinding her to any underlying issues. However, as she settles into their seemingly perfect life, cracks begin to surface, revealing the family’s sinister secrets.”
Listen, this synopsis doesn’t even begin to describe the sinister secrets Luc’s family is hiding. As we watched this film, we wondered what was so bad about Luc’s mother, Omicha (Gloria Anozie), father, Meki (Keppy Ekpenyong-Bassey), and sister Kama (Meg Otanwa). We’ll be honest; we felt some weird tension coming from Luc’s father, but we assumed it was that normal father/son type of tension. But what it ended up being was unexpected. When Nikiya and Luc arrive at Luc’s parents, the energy and vibes don’t feel warm and fuzzy. At least not to us.
There’s an awkwardness, and you can feel it coming off the screen. We understood Nikiya’s need for a family, especially because she found out she was pregnant. She wants a place to belong, and Luc has that family she craves. She can’t understand why he doesn’t want to be around them, and Luc won’t tell her. We think that if he had, what took place once they got to his parent’s village could have been avoided. We’re talking stay-home, send-a-happy anniversary card avoidance because the Chezeta family’s secrets are not your average run-of-the-mill secrets.
We can say that Lucs mother, father, and sister are master manipulators. Kama makes you feel for her as you watch her dealing with an abusive relationship with her boyfriend Zeido (James Gardiner). There is a vulnerability behind her that makes Nikiya want to be a protector, but we can tell you Kama can hold her own. That much was clear in a very, and we mean very, shocking twist that we did not see coming. And if we’re being honest, Zeido got what was coming to him, but we digress. The moment the twist comes, it is clear that we are heading down a dark path with this film. The Weekend has some incredibly shocking moments; the cast was so good. Before watching this movie, we were unfamiliar with these actors, and the performances were strong. Anozie, Otanwa, and Ekpenyong-Bassey did a great job of presenting the typical family dynamic that draws you in, so watching the shift in all of them as we learned what they were all about was wild.
We were most impressed by Aniunoh and especially Franklin. The inner turmoil from hiding his family’s secret and the pain it was causing him to do everything in his power to try and protect Nikiya was showcased in a very authentic way. We truly felt for Luc and wanted him and Nikiya to be able to run away and get away from everything. When the film’s ending came, it was shocking and made us sad, too. That seems to be the trend with some of these Screamfest films. But we love it. We love horror films that have some meaning behind them. While The Weekend was a film that was rough in some ways, it was all about wanting to belong. Nikiya wanted to be part of Luc’s family because she was an orphan. She assumed that his home life was so wonderful, but what she saw taught her that having a family sometimes is not all it’s cracked up to be.
Check out the trailer for The Weekend below:
