The Surrender is the directorial debut of Julia Max and stars Colby Minifie (The Boys), and Emmy nominee Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy) who play a mother and daughter that perform a resurrection ritual after the family’s patriarch dies.

The film starts off quite climactic, with some unsettling imagery of a nude figure eating flesh. It comes back down as we are immersed in the lives of a small family consisting of Barbara (Burton), Megan (Minifie) and Robert (Vaughn Armstrong). Robert is bedridden, and we quickly see how this affects Barbara and Megan. While Megan insists that her mother take a break from caring for Robert, Megan begins making strange discoveries in their home, including a bag of human teeth under her father’s bed.

The Surrender is definitely a slow burn, with discoveries of the horrors presenting themselves quietly but impactfully. As the film progresses, you learn of the lengths that Barbara goes to hold onto her husband, and it is both horrifying and just sad. While Megan tries to bring some sense to her mother, it is obvious that her mind is too clouded by grief.

Something that really stood out to me was the relationship between Barbara and Megan. Their relationship felt genuine, and this is a testament to Max’s writing and the strengths of Burton and Minifie as actors. I especially liked the moments that showed how life isn’t black and white, with moments of humor in some of the most sad and traumatic moments. In particular, a scene that stuck with me was when the two are with Robert and wake up to discover that he has passed away. While of course, this is a horrible thing to discover, the two bring a moment of humor through their conversation (I don’t want to say exactly what as to not ruin the scene).

After Robert passes, things start to pick up, with Barbara racing to prepare for a resurrection ritual. Megan, of course, finds this unbelievable, but doesn’t want to strain her relationship with her mother any further, so she decides to go along with it. The two begin covering mirrors in the home, burning items that were important to Robert and preparing a room filled with candles. Despite all of their preparations, things go horribly awry as it is discovered that not every rule of the ritual was respected.

The Surrender perfectly balances realism and horror. The mother-daughter relationship between Barbara and Megan felt relatable and I think anybody who has had some sort of complicated relationship to a loved one can relate. Death, grief and the struggles of letting go are huge parts of the film and were represented really poignantly, and you can tell that this story is personal to writer/director Max. This personal connection resulted in a film that is not only horrific but moving as well.