Julia Max's horror film, The Surrender, addresses the pain and fear rooted in grief. When Megan returned home to her ailing father and overstimulated mother, she realized she should have been by her side the whole time. The guilt of living away from her parents, even after learning of her father's condition, consumed her. But she always reasoned that it was her mother who forced her to make such a drastic decision. Barbara was very meticulous about things and could never trust Megan to follow her instructions to the letter. The conflict between Barbara and Megan is central to the narrative. While Megan wanted to confront her father's condition pragmatically, Barbara was inclined to resort to dubious healing methods in the hopes of keeping him alive.
On the day of her return home, Megan mentioned to Barbara the nonprofit she was working with to establish a scholarship program for disadvantaged and marginalized children. She added that her father had told her he would contribute to the scholarship if the grant she sought didn't materialize. Barbara was furious, already sensing that securing the funding was the main reason Megan had returned home. She made it very clear she wouldn't give her the money. Barbara urged her to apply for more grants instead of relying on her parents to grant her wish.
Director: Julia Max
Writer: Julia Max
Stars: Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Chelsea Alden
Megan decided not to end the conversation there, especially when she realized how overwhelmed her mother was with all the responsibilities. She asked if they could go out to dinner and spend some time alone together while she cared for her father. The nurse had secretly told Megan that Barbara had purposefully not given Robert the full dose of morphine because she wanted him to call her when he was in pain. She felt needed and loved, and that gave her a purpose. Although Barbara left the house in her car, she simply waited in the neighborhood. She was in no condition to enjoy a nice dinner or discuss her situation with her friends. It was also evident that Barbara's yoga instructor, Deb, had a huge influence on her, and she had become obsessed with alternative practices and witchcraft: she believed in things like crystal healing, leaving loose teeth under the bed, and even braiding a witch's ladder from her own hair.
She couldn't rely on medical treatment alone, and keeping Robert alive had become her sole focus. Meanwhile, when Megan was alone with her father and he woke up asking for Barbara, she didn't know what to do. She checked her schedule, and it wasn't time for her morphine. She wanted to call her mother, but didn't want to upset her. So Megan ended up giving the morphine to her father. It pained her to see him suffer. As a child, Megan remembered asking her father if it was possible to resurrect someone, and Robert told her it was impossible, and that the beauty of life lies in its end; therefore, one should appreciate every day of existence. Although she wanted to hold on to her father, Megan knew that when his time came, she would have to accept him.
Megan was in the bathroom when Barbara arrived. Upon leaving, she informed her mother about the morphine dosage. Barbara was surprised because as soon as she returned home, she had already administered a dose. Megan suggested taking him to the hospital, but Barbara didn't consider it an option. Robert was on the do-not-resuscitate list, meaning he would rather die peacefully than allow medical intervention. Barbara and Megan decided to sleep next to Robert that night to keep a constant watch on him. When Megan awoke, she saw her father's eyes and mouth wide open. He had passed away in his sleep, and his body had already gone cold. This wasn't the ending Megan had hoped for, and she was still processing her grief.
Surprisingly, Barbara seemed very calm, and we soon discovered why. It turned out that her yoga instructor had recommended a shaman capable of raising the dead, and she had been preparing from the beginning to perform the ritual immediately after Robert's passing. Megan was stunned when Barbara told her about the shaman and the ritual. She didn't approve of her mother's meddling with life and death, and besides, she was convinced the shaman was a con artist. She argued with her mother and left the house to clear her head.
Megan imagined her father sitting beside her and asked him for advice. She knew her father would have wanted her to give Barbara a chance. She was grieving too, and allowing her to do something that would make her believe she had given it her all might be the only way to help her heal. And if the experiment failed, she could always blame the shaman. Barbara didn't expect Megan to be supportive, but she was glad to have her daughter by her side. Mother and daughter prepared the ritual room according to the instructions Barbara had received. She had to get rid of everything that belonged to Robert. They needed a blank slate for the ritual to work, so they gathered all his belongings and photographs and burned them in the bonfire. Megan was hesitant to part with a photo she had of her father in his dance costume. She cherished the memory, but Barbara encouraged her to.
The shaman was a strange, bearded man wearing a hat and coat. He didn't speak aloud, only whispered his wishes to Barbara. As soon as she handed him a bag full of money, Megan lost her temper. She couldn't believe her mother was about to give away her father's entire savings. She reminded her that she, too, depended on it, and that if the ritual didn't work, they would be out of money. But Barbara refused to listen. She reiterated that nothing mattered anymore except resurrecting Robert, and that she was willing to pay any price for that. Megan wondered if she was doing the right thing by supporting her mother's whims, but she also knew she couldn't leave her alone with that sinister man. So she ended up joining her for the ritual. By the time she returned to the room, the money was gone. The shaman had probably burned it as well, because the wealth belonged to Robert and he couldn't keep it. Barbara encouraged Megan to sit in the ritual circle with her father's corpse in the center. The shaman sealed the circle with the ashes of Robert's burned belongings. His purpose was to protect them, and they couldn't leave the circle until the ritual was over.
The first surrender (their belongings) helped them seal the circle; the second surrender allowed them to reach the other side, where they would invoke Robert's spirit to return to his body; and the third surrender would help them return home together. Megan didn't understand what her mother meant by surrender until she saw the shaman cut off one of her fingers. He had drugged Megan, and although she didn't want to continue, she had no choice. Soon, the shaman began to chant, and Megan and Barbara repeated afterward. The amulets in the room began to move, and a strong beam of white light illuminated them. Suddenly, the room went completely dark, and by the time Megan and Barbara lit the candles in the circle, they discovered that the shaman's face was half-consumed.
As soon as they were transported to the other side, Robert's body was possessed by evil. The protective circle had become penetrable, and Robert dragged the shaman's body outside and devoured it. Megan could see the hands of a creature protruding from her father's body. Robert's eyes glowed, driven by his primal instinct to consume blood. Megan knew immediately that the creature was not her father; although it was his body, its behavior was demonic. Barbara was disappointed to discover that Megan had kept the photograph of her and Robert, which was one reason the ritual didn't work. She ordered Megan to burn it and use it to seal the circle.
Megan had no choice and followed her mother's orders. Barbara refused to accept that the ritual had failed and that the man before her was not her husband. In a desperate attempt, she slit her wrists and tried to lure Robert. She wanted him to enter the circle so they could return home. But Robert refused to cross. It was obvious that the ritual was intended as a pact with the Devil, but because the instructions weren't followed to the letter, the Devil became displeased and completely took over Robert's body.
Megan remembered that the third surrender might take her home, so she cut off another finger and screamed in pain. But nothing happened. She was still trapped in the void, and the excruciating pain, coupled with the drug she was taking, caused vivid hallucinations. She felt relieved, imagining that her home was just beneath the wooden surface of the circle. Megan removed the wooden planks and entered her home. But she soon realized she had stepped back in time. She began to understand things she never understood as a child. Although she remembered her father's valuable lesson about death, she had blissfully forgotten the time he asked Barbara to change the dress she was wearing because it seemed too revealing. Her mother had lost touch with all her friends, and her world revolved around her husband and Megan, with Robert being responsible. Megan always thought her father was the understanding and progressive one, and her mother, the negative one; the reality was quite the opposite. Robert was determined to maintain a certain image, perhaps because deep down he always knew that Megan would one day rebel against his oppressive behavior. This suggests he was self-aware, but couldn't shake off his domineering nature.
Barbara abandoned her career, her friends, and her small joys in life because her husband disapproved of them. Megan also realized that it was her mother who insisted that her father let her continue with her dance classes, but Robert despised dancers and didn't want his daughter to become one. Barbara chose to hide the truth from Megan and ended up becoming the bearer of bad news and the one who imposed restrictions. Megan understood her mother's desperation to resurrect her father; she didn't know how to live without him. She had lost her free will a long time ago and needed Robert by her side to make her life meaningful. Deep down, Barbara could probably already predict the negative outcome of the ritual, but she didn't care. She was willing to sacrifice herself to bring Robert back to life because she had become an extension of him, and dying perhaps seemed an easier option than living without him.
The visions helped Megan understand that her parents were imperfect human beings and that she had made erroneous assumptions about them. But even after learning about their mistakes and negative aspects, she accepted them as they were. They were broken, but they were still her parents. She had failed them again and again, but they didn't abandon her, and she believed they deserved to be understood and loved as well.
The ending of The Surrender underscores how often the illusion of what one believes to be the ultimate truth when one is young finally fades, and the harsh truth emerges. Perhaps Megan could have helped her mother if she had known the pain she had always been hiding, and together they could have bravely overcome her grief. Perhaps if Robert had been more understanding of Barbara's dreams, she would not have made such a drastic decision.
If Barbara had sought help, things might have been different. But going back in time wasn't an option; they had failed each other, and it all resulted in this strange situation Megan found herself in. Eventually, Barbara approached her daughter from outside the protective circle. She had become a primitive, diabolical creature, just like Robert, and stared at her with her glowing eyes. Megan knew the creature wasn't her mother; her soul had departed the instant she was removed from the circle. But she wanted her mother to know that, though she was stubborn and selfish, she loved her with all her imperfections. She regretted not having told her parents that more often.
The ending of The Surrender can be interpreted in two ways: when Megan blows the ashes, she exposes herself to a ray of light. Perhaps Megan needed to know the whole truth and make peace with her parents' imperfections because it was all part of grieving, and when she fully accepts them, she is finally free from the void. Perhaps letting go of all the grievances was the ultimate surrender. This is, of course, symbolic: uncomfortable truths and dirty secrets often come to light after death, and only after making peace with all of that can one truly begin to heal from the loss.
If we don't consider what we see as the ultimate truth and instead interpret it, then perhaps we can come to the conclusion that Barbara committed suicide to reunite with her husband. Megan tried to stop her mother, but she never listened. It was only after losing both of her parents that Megan revisited memories from the past again and again, and gained clarity about who they were. The whole grieving process showed her the path to healing. Now, if we consider the ritual as the ultimate truth, then we can come to the conclusion that Megan gave herself over to the demonic beasts.
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