If you’re looking for something creepy to watch this Valentine’s Day, let me introduce you Appendix, a strange love story with chilling supernatural elements. Writer/director Gabriel Bier Gislason’s feature debut is a sharp story with a creeping sense of fear, rooted in Jewish mythology. A trio of strong female performances elevates this film above the usual horror tropes.
Not only does the film base some of its fears on the Jewish religion, but it also deals with themes of loneliness and mental illness. The plot revolves around a young scholar caught between her mother and her female lover. Fair warning: Some light spoilers are included below for this shudder exclusive.
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Attachments undermining Rom-Coms
Appendix initially takes place as a well-known rom-com. As-been actress Maja (Josephine Park) literally bumps into young scholar Leah (Ellie Kendrick) in a library. At first, the brightly lit set design feels like a Hallmark movie, especially when you consider that Maja is dressed as an elf, a character she played on TV before her career dried up. They spend a passionate night together as sparks fly.
However, during their first night together, Leah has a seizure and breaks her leg, forcing her to return to the Hasidic area of Stamford Hill, London with Maja following behind. The setting is a stark contrast to the cheerful rom-com opening in the library, followed by Maja’s laid-back Scandinavian apartment. Leah lives in London with her mother Chana (Sofie Gråbøl). They live on separate floors in the darkened wood paneled house.
The shift in setting sets the rest of the film up as a unique supernatural thriller steeped in Jewish mythology. The creaking floor, shady environment is used optimally. Chana’s superstitions and beliefs are strong. There is salt around every corner and there are bowls everywhere to ward off demons. This shift in setting and tone cleverly subverts the rom-com opening. This is certainly not the Hallmark movie that teases the first 10 minutes.
Appendices exploration of Jewish mythology
Through Leah’s uncle, Lev (David Dencik), the film drops several elements from Jewish mythology. Lev runs a sort of Jewish mystic shop and regularly teaches Maja, who is non-Jewish. There is talk of the golem, a monster made of clay and magically brought to life by a rabbi in Prague to protect the city’s Jewish population. There is also an important nod to the dybbuk, an evil entity that possesses the body of the living. The only way to exorcise it is to find out who they are and what they want.
As the film progresses, Leah exhibits increasingly strange symptoms, until she is revealed to be completely possessed by a dybbuk. There are some parallels between these Appendix and the 1920 play “The Dybbuk” by S.Ansky. Basically, the play is about a young woman, Leah, who is possessed by a dybbuk on her wedding day. The spirit that possesses Leah belongs to Channon, a young scholar who loved her and died upon learning she was betrothed to another. The parallels between the two Leah characters are obvious, and Chana could be a replacement for Channon. Their names are similar and Chana tries to push Maja out of the picture, showing jealousy on more than one occasion. She takes the overprotective mother trope to the extreme.
Attachment, mental illness and motherhood
What also works so well about the film is the way it deals with mental illness and motherhood. Chana can certainly be considered a villain. She regularly challenges Maja for her daughter’s love and at one point puts peanuts in her dinner, knowing she is allergic to them. Gråbøl’s performance evokes both fear and sympathy in the viewer. Chana is not a black and white character. We get her backstory one by one, namely through Leah.
At the beginning of the film, Leah explains to Maja that Chana was not born into a strict religious family. But when she met Leah’s father, she moved before him, but she never fit in. “It’s not that kind of community you can join,” says Leah. She adds that her father insisted on staying in the Hasidic London Quarter, trying to make it work, before eventually abandoning the family. Leah notes, “I think he broke something in her…even after he left us…she’s still trying to fit in.”
Often there is the feeling that Chana wanted to get more out of life. At one point she says she can make Maja a bowl of chicken soup because she has nothing else to do with her life. When Maja cracks a bowl meant to protect against evil, Chana tells her it’s a copy she made. It’s expendable, just like her, she says. While Chana certainly practices unjust cruelty against Maja, she has a tragic backstory. Her life just never turned out the way she wanted it to. Sounds similar to another favorite from last year. She moved for a man who abandoned her, and Leah is all she has left, hence her overprotective nature and obsession with her daughter. But without spoiling the powerful and powerful ending, Chana’s character is definitely redeemed.
General, Appendix is quite an impressive debut by Bier Gisalson. It features compelling female performances, rich Jewish mythology, and an unnerving setting steeped in superstition. This is a well crafted, terrifyingly strange love story. It arrives on Shudder on February 9. Stay up to date with the latest content from the streaming service by following my Shudder Secrets column.
Brian Fanelli is a poet and educator who also enjoys writing about the horror genre. His work has been published in The L.A. Times, World Literature Today, Schuylkill Valley Journal, horror living room, and elsewhere. On weekends, he enjoys going to the local drive-in movie theater with his wife or curling up on the couch and binge-watching movies with their cat, Giselle.
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