As I’ve discussed at length in the past, we really can’t overstate the impact of The Silence of the Lambs; a bona fide game changer, it blurred the lines between police procedural and horror story (not to suggest this hadn’t been done before: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, anyone?), setting the stage for the psychological thriller boom of the 1990s, and all these years later its influence can still be felt. The shadow of Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winner hangs heavy over Charismata, a 2017 independent British horror from writer-director duo Andy Collier and Toor Mian. However, where Clarice Starling’s investigations took her to the dark outer limits of the human psyche, Charismata’s central protagonist Detective Rebecca Faraway (Sarah Beck Mather) finds herself assigned to the case of a ritualistic serial killer which comes to have a devastating impact on her own state of mind, leaving her uncertain as to where the line falls between nightmare and reality.
Charismata wastes no time establishing Faraway as a 21st century Starling, as she is the only woman on the case, and it’s immediately clear that her partner, DI Eli Smith (Andonis Anthony), is an old-fashioned chauvinist who doesn’t hold his co-worker in particularly high regard. It doesn’t help that Faraway is the daughter of the Commissioner, leading to suspicions as to just how she got her job; or that, since the recent breakdown of her marriage, Faraway is on medication for her mental health. She finds herself needing those pills even more than usual, as she and Smith are called in to investigate the discovery of a second murder victim in a derelict industrial site, rotting on the floor with a vital organ missing, with occult symbols inscribed on the wall and floor.
The lack of witnesses, CCTV footage or any kind of physical evidence makes their job rather difficult, but it helps that only a small number of people could have had access to the secure location. This leads Faraway and Smith to Michael Sweet (Jamie Satterthwaite), a slimy, silver-tongued corporate big-shot who owns the site in question. With only circumstantial evidence to connect him, they’re unable to arrest Sweet, but Faraway quickly becomes convinced that he’s the killer. However, as her personal life crumbles around her and tensions in the workplace get progressively worse, a simple hunch turns into a dangerous fixation; and, even more worryingly, Faraway finds herself experiencing increasingly bizarre and unnerving visions.
I’ll admit to having previously been unfamiliar with the word ‘charismata,’ which is not, to the best of my recollection, ever uttered in the film; I gather it’s a theological term, basically a plural of ‘charisma,’ referring to a ‘divinely conferred gift or power’ and/or a ‘spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people.’ I could cast some aspersions as to how this relates to the film, but the clearest meaning would seem to be that someone – or something – is imposing their influence on Faraway’s mind, leaving her unsure of what is real, or whether or not she is entirely sane. It’s familiar subject matter for horror, no question, but it’s explored effectively enough to keep the film intriguing and compelling. It helps that Sarah Beck Mather is strong in the central role; very much the focus of the film, if I recall correctly she appears in pretty much every scene, and as such the film lives or dies on whether we get invested in her journey, which is happily never an issue. Mather gets solid support from Andonis Anthony, who takes what might easily have been a one-note sexist cop and finds some nuance there.
Unfortunately, the same can’t necessarily be said of the remainder of the cast. It’s apparent from the start that Charismata is a very low budget production, although for the most part this isn’t a problem; it looks pretty good, with decent cinematography and editing, plus some surprisingly effective use of CGI. The supporting performances, however, leave a lot to be desired at times, and rather let the wind out of the sails just when things should be at their most dramatic.
This isn’t by any means a prerequisite for a film to be entertaining, but even so, it’s worth stressing that Charismata is in no sense a ground-breaker. In story and execution, it doesn’t give us much we haven’t seen before, and not everything it tries to squeeze in completely works: the feminist overtones get heavy-handed, attempts to inject sexual tension feel forced, and the conclusion isn’t entirely satisfying. These minor concerns notwithstanding, this is certainly one of the more enjoyable British horror movies I’ve seen so far this year, and it’s well worth giving a look.
Charismata will screen at London’s East End Film Festival on 26th April; for further detail and/or to book tickets, click here.