Mater, When prayer Isn't Enough

It is easy to say 'there is a natural order' to our existences. We're born...we grow...we die. During the middle part we love, are hurt, are nurtured, and...well...live life. The beliefs we acquire and the divine that we seek provide great comfort, rules to live by, and a larger understanding than our surroundings would suggest. Belief in God and eternal life through that belief makes the unbearable bearable...to most people. Hence a 12 minute horror short from France by David Teixeira, "Mater."

She's (Lea N'Kaoua) beautiful, and grieving. This young woman prepares to pay a visit to her dying mother. The young woman is deliberate in her preparations as she dons a black outfit, slightly Victorian and more than slightly appropriate for the mourning that is near. With the same deliberateness she clutches her crucifix, kneels, and prays for her mother. Her routine for this sad ritual is practiced and comforting, and anointed by her God. This is a horrific tale and it is about to get most horrific...get ready.

A short walk in the woods will take her to her mother's house, where her mom is clutching to her last vestiges of life. Uh oh...the walk didn't go according to routine. Out of nowhere a mysterious man (form, actually) clad in black appears and offers herbs that will relieve the mom's pain. Who is this guy (thing)? It will soon be obvious that it, and his herbs, are hardly benign. What happens to mom is terrifying, especially for the praying and devout young lady seeking to give care and comfort. Now filled with horror, our young protagonist panics, loses her bearings (in her faith and her direction). No spoilers here but what follows will be hard to watch as evil seeks to soil beauty.

What unfolds in this 12 minute short is truly horrific (there is that word again), but perhaps an important moral can be gleaned. The horror moves in when vulnerability and deviance from faith move in. The onslaught that will attack our protagonist perhaps awaits all of us if we deviate from a true path. Misery, sorrow, and perhaps a smattering of guilt are just the mixture that can propel us to a meeting with an ultimate foe. David Teixeira's film will be hard to watch, and conjure up terrifying images in our own minds. Be ready to examine your own faith and conviction as you watch "Mater." Incidentally, Lea N'Kaoua's performance is most striking and I doubt any other actress could've pulled it off.