ATTACHMENT (2022)

Attachment (2022)
Directed by: Gabriel Bier Gislason
Written by: Gabriel Bier Gislason
Starring: David Dencik, Ellie Kendrick, Josephine Park, Sofie Grabol

ATTACHMENT (2022)
Written and Directed by Gabriel Bier Gislason
A Shudder Original

It’s love at first sight for former Danish TV star Maja and British academic Leah after the pair bump into each other at a library in Denmark. Their whirlwind romance is threatened when Leah is set to return home to London but finds herself unable to tear herself away from her new flame. With nothing keeping her in Denmark, Maja makes the decision to leave her country to follow Leah back to hers. However, before the flight home, Leah suffers a seizure which results in an injured leg.

Returning home to England with her leg in a brace, Leah is greeted by her worrisome and overprotective mother, Chana. Despite also being Danish herself, Chana gives Leah’s girlfriend Maja the cold shoulder as she seeks to nurse her only child back to health in the house they share in London. With her girlfriend having been brought up by her mother’s strict Jewish faith, Maja decides to try and better understand the religion with the help of local bookshop owner, Lev.

As each day passes, Maja becomes increasingly concerned with Chana’s behaviour, both towards her and her own daughter. Hearing footsteps at night, discovering strange items placed throughout their upstairs flat, and observing Chana’s obsessive personality causes Maja concern. Does Chana mean well or is her attachment to her own daughter an unhealthy one putting both their lives in danger?

Romance-horror thriller ATTACHMENT thrusts the viewer into the uncomfortable world of “meeting the parents” but this one has more than lead character Maja (Josephine Park) bargained for.

Meeting your partner’s parents is always a big deal, but to be meeting them when they’re unaware of your existence having only been dating their daughter for five minutes, and they’re strictly religious, may be a bit much to handle. So when we see Leah’s mother Chana (a terrific Sofie Gråbøl) cold towards Maja upon Leah’s return home, it’s no real surprise, especially as Leah’s injured and had extended her trip in Denmark for Maja.

Chana’s attentiveness shows how protective she is of her only child, which instantly casts Maja as an outsider, not just in the home but also in a foreign country. The only thing she can connect with Chana is the fact they’re both Danish so she relies upon their shared homeland and mother tongue as a way to connect with her. With Chana also being deeply religious, Maja decides that understanding Judaism may help to bridge the gap between them, especially as she is surrounded by so many Jewish traditions and rituals, both in the home and conducted by Chana. However, as time goes on, Maja begins to grow concerned that Chana’s stand-off attitude towards her is a result of her hiding something else, and that her fussing around her daughter may not be as well-intended as it first seemed.

Despite being non-religious myself, what I enjoyed about ATTACHMENT is how we get to explore Judaism, and the esoteric teachings of Jewish mysticism. Whilst there have been a few films in the past that have dealt with this, such as 2012 film The Possession, this one seems to really go to lengths to explore the Kabbalah and touch upon the demonology which some Jewish followers believe in. Exploring these studies goes hand-in-hand with Maja diving into Judaism as she tries to build bridges and become closer to the family of the woman she has fallen for. We, the audience, learn with her a bit about the superstitions, rituals and charms put into effect to ward off evil, and from this information, we begin to form an opinion based on what we see, just like Maja. However, is the truth something more human and dangerous than mystical?

Maja and Leah’s whirlwind romance is also exposed in the film as it seems that both parties may have rushed into their relationship. For Maja, meeting Leah (Ellie Kendrick) is also an escape and an opportunity to walk away from her past, one that had long since left her behind, and a chance to start anew. For Leah, who’s mostly bed-ridden throughout the movie, she wonders whether it’s all a bit too much too soon for Maja to leave her home country to live with her, a woman she’s only known five minutes. As a viewer, it’s hard to look past the unrealistic aspect of relocating your entire life based on someone you’ve just met who you don’t really know, and this does overshadow the movie a bit, especially when their relationship never seems to grow much beyond Maja becoming a second caregiver to Leah, behind her mother Chana, of course. Despite the minor age difference between the two leads, there are scenes that play out like a mother and daughter relationship between Maja and Leah, or at least the idea that one is significantly older than the other or led a more experienced life where the other’s is just beginning theirs. This doesn’t affect their entire relationship in the movie, just at certain moments. However, there are times when the chemistry blooms between Maja and Leah as lovers. I only wish their relationship could have been developed more to be one that the viewer can throw their weight behind for better impact.

As far as horror elements are concerned, ATTACHMENT really lacks the punch it so desperately needs. The buildup we see between Maja, Leah and Chana is better handled, with human emotions and relationships put into play, creating some tense scenarios between the characters. Whilst there’s certainly some great friction played out within the movie, and with the religious elements adding extra depth, the payoff isn’t quite as effective as anticipated.

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