Throughout the 20th century, Aboriginal families were torn apart by government-sanctioned kidnappings. They forcibly removed children from loving homes to place them with white families in an effort to cut them off from their culture. “The Moogai” opens with the chilling fact that an estimated one in three Aboriginal children were taken from their homes during this period. A generation or two later, this displacement is still affecting families.
“The Moogai,” which takes its name from a child-stealing boogeyman, follows a middle-class Aboriginal couple, a pregnant lawyer named Sarah (Shari Sebbens) and her loving husband Fergus (Meyne Wyatt). When their baby arrives early, Sarah suffers a near-death experience, and the traumatic fallout of the difficult childbirth leaves her with mysterious and disturbing visions of children with white eyes and a creepy beast with long hands trying to steal their children. When Sarah shares her visions and behaves erratically, Fergus begins to worry about the baby and their older daughter Chloe’s safety. Although Sarah initially pushed her Aboriginal mother Ruth (Tessa Rose) away for the logical white parents who raised her, she will need to turn back to her culture for answers.
Written and directed by Jon Bell, “The Moogai” is the type of horror movie that’s more than just about jump scares and freaky monsters. It’s also about the horrors humans have done to one another in the name of racism and colonialism. The script cleverly folds these issues into the story, much like movies like “Nope,” “Candyman,” and the French horror film “Infested,” sharpening the horror stakes with sociopolitical background. It’s tough to watch Sarah try to advocate for herself to white authority figures who assume the worst of her character, or the mental calculation Fergus makes to de-escalate a situation, even if it means not taking Sarah’s side.
The movie includes these seemingly innocuous details that seep into the cracks of the couple’s everyday life, causing them more stress and uncertainty compared to their white counterparts. In one scene, there’s a character who patronizingly questions Sarah’s ability to parent, and one of Sarah’s close coworkers abandons her in a moment of need to save herself, adding to her sense of abandonment. Like a “Rosemary’s Baby” in reverse, the devil is all around her, menacing her every move.
There’s also plenty of tension between Sarah and Ruth, and the strained relationship to motherhood they each share after traumatic events in their lives. Sarah is unsure if she can trust Ruth’s old customs and if these bad dreams aren’t something she’s caused. Is she the source of her nightmares in the spirit of “Carrie,” or does she truly offer solutions to the far-fetched idea that a child-kidnapping spirit is stalking their family a second time?
Ruth herself is marked by the loss of her sister, stolen by the monster whose name could have also been applied to the white men trying to kidnap them from their families. Later, her daughter Sarah was taken from her, and the scars of their estrangement are painfully visible for all to see as she now carries a palpable fear that her baby would be taken from her the same way she was taken from her mother.
The only misstep “The Moogai” makes is that of showing the monster too much. The mere threat of the child snatcher is enough to keep the film’s intensity going, but the reveal is a little less refined than the rest of an otherwise compelling horror thriller. Sebbens gives an impressive performance that brings to mind Essie Davis’ stirring turn in another classic Australian horror film, “The Babadook.” When it becomes her against the world to save her kids, Sebbens shores up her character’s strength, and Sarah learns to embrace the traditions that are her birthright.
Bell throws suspenseful twists throughout the narrative so there’s never a dull moment between the disturbing visions, heated verbal altercations, and Sarah’s inner battles. Bell, along with director of photography Sean Ryan, conjures up creepy visions just as sharply as they set up Sarah’s ideal world of an upscale modern home and dream job, creating an eerie contrast and the sensation of history returning to haunt the present.
With “The Moogai,” Bell wrestles with the horrors of the past and acknowledges the history of the Aboriginal children who never had a chance at a future.
