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It’s my grandmother’s bible. It still exists, although my grandmother left me unambiguous instructions that it should be destroyed by fire upon her death. She died when I was a child so I have only vague memories of her, but I certainly don’t recall anything that would make this odd request logical. My father didn’t understand her entreaty either, and likely believed it to be something dementia-related. I could tell that it perplexed my father because he spoke often enough about it for the story to stick in my head.
His disobedience was significant: I was aware that he did not obey her directions, and that the bible was indeed present. As a child who spent excessive time reading horror comic books, it was easy to visualize a ghost: Any time I heard strange sounds in the dark of the night; any time I saw a shadow out of the corner of my vision; any time any of my belongings fell off the shelf or vanished only to be found in another room, I thought my grandmother died and was now stirring her spirit in our house because my father did not respect her wishes.
Tales such as this featuring revenants and malevolent spirits can be found everywhere in mythology and folklore. In old and smaller societies, such stories were often circulated from one generation to another, an oral custom that slowly becomes part of a community’s history. Those transcendent stories morph into folklore and mythology, only to be told again through modern horror literature and movies.
Director Nikola Petrovic mixes motifs of haunting beauty in his film “Mudbrick.” The film incorporates elements of Slavic folklore along with captivating stories his grandparents narrated to him. Petrovic’s film “Mudbrick” is set to stream on AppleTV+ and Amazon Prime after its release on December 13. The village of Ciniglavci situated near Pirot, Serbia is where the film was shot. In this film, the family conflict and disturbing or fanatical religious devotion towards an evil God are shown in a blend of shocking and sad moods. This film is a remarkable piece of folk horror but it must be noted that parts of it may contain graphic scenes and require more research before watching.
The film’s official logline tells us that Paul (Philip Brodie) a Londoner comes back to Serbia to his forefather’s house after the death of his father who had a will to leave it to him. For years his brother Jakov Howard and his family have been living there.
The strain between Jakov and Paul is undeniable: Jakov thinks that Paul has arrived to remove him from the family’s mud brick house and to take everything from him. Meanwhile, Paul, who tries to reconnect with Jakov, finds that all his efforts remain useless. Paul’s attempts to have a healthy conversation with Jakov’s wife, Natalija (Kamka Tocinovski), and daughter Ana (Dusica Nastova) do not yield any better results either. Still, it is clear by their more determined attempts that these two sides do not see their conflict as being solely limited to a family dispute.
Petrovic hints at only the darker side of this secret, with images of Jakov and his family in the Serbian countryside on their knees praying for help. Monuments of Slavic folklore litter the region and are attached to the same mud brick house where the two brothers have their violent altercations. Vertical Structures & Integration Other villagers do not treat Paul with any sympathy, as if to indicate that they know something unfortunate about him.
“Mudbrick” is more than just another addition to the current resurgence in folk horror cinema. Telling and unsettling, this piece clearly stands out with the use of astonishing imagery. To unravel its intricacy, the audience is met with the challenge of profound thought revolving criticism. One might think that the opening of the film gives out how displeased Jakov is with Paul’s coming, nevertheless, neither the reasons nor the depths of his animosity are so clear cut at all. Before Paul finally “remembers,” and all the pieces fall together rather quickly, Petrovic provides ample information in the first half of the film that is easily overlooked.
Regardless of the polish that can be given to the Kottle story, Petrovic forgoes simplistically portraying it by ensuring that the tension between the two brothers remains centre stage throughout the movie. It supplements the focus on the folk horror dimensions and darkens the already bleak undertones. The director of the film explains in his production notes that the inspiration for “Mudbrick” stems from an event that is actually so mundane, where two brothers in real-world phenomena right after World War 2 found themselves on two competing sides of a disputable clash from which there was no turning back. The fight out of the territory split was the base of their permanent division, which incredibly framed their entire village into a contested territory.
“It was hard to behold and sad to know that there can be such a deep divisive gap between brothers,” Petrovic said. “When I was a child, I did not appreciate the depths of the family rift in this story. Yet, as I grew older and realized how easily family ties can be severed, this story began to touch me more personally and motivated me to adapt it to a screenplay.”
Petrovic maintained that Mudbrick was shot in the same village where the actual events took place. He posted, “This is also the village my grandparents are from. The whole creative team is Serbian, which I think gave the film a really authentic vibe.”
“Mudbrick” shines well above its captivating constituents of macabre folklore by delving into the more complex issues of family rivalry, envy, the crimes of our forefathers, stale, brooding guilt, and obsessive worship. A slow, sombre descent into the depths of human emotions whether good or evil, it’s a bone-chilling, eerily riveting masterpiece proud with overwhelming perfect acting by Brodie and Howard and fantastic execution with the camera.
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