Part mystery, part broad strokes eco- or folk horror, Broken Beak (aka The Burning of Broken Beak, 2026) is flawed in execution, but not without engaging thematic and visual ideas of its own. Moreover, it my be flawed, but it isn’t flippant.
We start by hearing the last mating call of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō bird, now extinct, but its call was captured in the mid-1980s, seeking a mate which did not exist. This very poignant opening segues into a singularly unsubtle scene, where two suits discuss a new environment-blitzing resort development being planned in New Zealand; the second that one of the men is left alone, however, he’s cut down by a huge, bird-like figure which leaves him dead on the beach.
The dead man is called Gregory; when, in New York, fashion designer and photographer Emma (Briar Rose) finds out that her uncle Gregory is dead, she has to rush home to NZ to attend the reading of the will. This is apparently a stipulation for any would-be recipients. Taking partner Jackie (Lydia Peckham) along with her – which is a choice (the woman brings a surfboard with her from the US to NZ, a country which presumably has a fair few of them) the two women arrive at Gregory’s old home, an old converted power station in the town of Devonport, and once settled in they link up with housekeeper Paula (Katlyn Wong) about all that’s been happening.
Paula is surprised that Emma knows so little: she explains the peculiar circumstances around Gregory’s death, and cites the legend of ‘Broken Beak’ as being responsible for what has happened. Despite being ethnically Chinese, Paula is well-versed in regional traditions and tales, describing the legend of a mythological being which was once a flesh and blood entity. Captured, tried and killed by the arriving European colonialists, Broken Beak now lives on, roaming the land anew since the outright greed of the recently-mooted land sale brought it back to life. Via a curse on Emma’s family, Paula goes on to claim, Broken Beak is making her way through them in order of inheritance which was stipulated by Gregory’s will.
That would be one thing, but it turns out that Emma herself is amongst the beneficiaries, inheriting the converted power station – on the stipulation that she has to spend a whole month in residence there before she can make any decision on selling or otherwise dispensing with the property. That’s odd; even odder, she begins to be plagued by dreams and visions of Broken Beak, dreams which seem to go beyond her previously solely professional interest in bird mythology for her photographic work. Soon, more family members are rocking up deceased – and all whilst Emma has to balance new accusations of her own guilt against fears for her safety.
This is, by and large, an eco-horror, though it’s unusual in that it has a comic book feel. Some of this is aesthetic – its sharp contrasts, bright blue skies, animation and fantasy sequences and use of visual motifs like silhouette remind you of comic book panels – but much of it is tonal, too, and due to that tone, the film can struggle to reconcile everything it wants to achieve. After that rather poignant opener, the film the veers far more into comic territory, with very overblown characters, skit-like scenes (such as the will reading) and rather clumsy interactions. It takes some time to be able to settle into what the film wants to do with that tone, which makes the film feel a little uncertain for perhaps too long into its (modest) runtime. On the whole, Broken Beak is thinly plotted, in the sense that it wants to allot some plot to a long list of issues and social commentary ideas, and it just can’t do everything it sets out to do. The film becomes a jumble of interesting, well-intentioned but ultimately minimally treated plot points, which will be frustrating for some.
That all being said, there does seem to be a broader resurgence (or even a surgence) of NZ horror cinema in recent years, with different subgenres and styles moving to the fore, either to emphasise or de-emphasise old narrative forces and norms. Broken Beak will no doubt take its place alongside these newer titles, with some engaging overlap of ideas and styles, even if it’s perhaps not held up as one of the best of the bunch. But is NZ or more specifically, Māori eco-horror a good thing? Absolutely, with lead actor Briar Rose doing a good job overall here, particularly in the film’s final act.
Broken Beak (2026) will feature at this year’s Raindance Film Festival.