ITS NAME WAS MORMO (2024)

New streaming on Tubi from Dark Star Productions!
Directed/Written by Mark Andrew Bowers.
Check out the trailer here!!

A happy family moves to a mansion in a Greek village. After a stroll through some nearby ruins, the father Mark (director/writer Mark Andrew Bowers) finds a locked box and brings it home with him, triggering a series of paranormal events endangering the entire family, including the dog!

Are the actors successfully acting like they aren’t acting?
Sure, the family, which seems to actually be a family in the really real world, do a decent job of interacting with one another in an authentic and realistic manner. The playful banter between the three is comfortable, though the family really doesn’t say anything profound or notable. It’s all just reactionary dialog that happens off-screen. Still, Marcela Cardenas who plays the wife/mother Diana is convincing at reacting tearful and scared to the things occurring around the family. Also, the dog is a pretty solid actor and has some very memorable scenes where it reacts to something strange going on. I was impressed how the filmmaker was able to get to little pooch to react in that way.

Does the footage found seem authentic and untouched by additional production?
The big authenticity question. There is no additional music or edits that would indicate that this was footage found. The lack of music really adds to the tension and gives the film a random, anything can happen feel that impressed me. That said, there are a few instances of choppy editing and shots that just happen to be in the right place to capture some odd stuff going on. A little contrived? Sure, but this film is set up from the perspective of an investigator going over all of the evidence for this case; including photos, 911 calls, and three snippets of video footage that makes up the bulk of the film. All of this is presented in a manner that adds to the authenticity of the film and thus makes it more effective in fooling me this footage was found if I didn’t know better.

Why don’t they just drop the camera and get the hell out of there?
Yes, there are a few instances where holding the camera at this point might have been the last thing on the family’s minds, but it does provide a light source for some very dark sequences, so there is a practical reason the camera is rolling. They also want to get to the bottom of all of this craziness and want to make sure they document it while doing so.

Is there an up-nose BLAIR WITCH confessional or a REC-drag away from the camera?
Not really. Mark talks to the camera to explain why they are filming, but no one really takes the time to reflect on the mistakes they make. They aren’t given the time to. There are a few moments where it seems Mark and Diana are dragged away with the camera, more like the long drag from WILLOW CREEK than [REC]. As far as camerawork, though, there is a ton of shaky cam, obscuring the view most of the time with rapid motion. It conveys a frantic mood but will make those with sensitive tummies to get queasy about.

Does anything actually happen? Is the lead in too long and the payoff too short?
This is where ITS NAME WAS MORMO falls short. There is something to be said about not explaining everything, leaving some questions for the viewer to answer themselves. But I think way too much was left out. There is no time when Mark or Diana reach out to find out more info about the box, the village, the local customs, and the like. The film description says this threat is from Greek mythology, but nothing in the script or what we see tells us this. There is an awful lot of time of “getting-to-know” the family as they attempt to understand this darkness that they seem to have all around them. But what really is going to annoy viewers (and ended up turning me off of the film as well) is that most of the time, aside from some very simple moving pieces of furniture, moving doors, and maybe a ball being rolled across the floor, you never see anything that the family is reacting to. Mark and Diana scream and run, causing the camera to be shaken like an epileptic Tasmanian Devil, but you never see what it is they are reacting to. If there were effects, I didn’t see any, so maybe they were too subtle for the camera to pick up. These scenes weren’t clear enough to distinguish what was happening and what was so scary. That goes for the sudden end as well. Nothing is really revealed as to who or what was the true cause of all of this. Was it a demon? The strange guy they saw in the distance in the ruins? I guess its name was Mormo, since…well, that’s the name of the movie, but that name is never even used in the film itself.

Does the film add anything to the subgenre and is it worth watching?
ITS NAME WAS MORMO is a bare-bones, low budget found footager. That doesn’t mean its bad. I think there were some very interesting scenes that conveyed real terror via the reactions from the cast and the moody setting. I liked quite a few scenes such as when Diana closely examines a doll house, reminiscent of the miniatures from HEREDITARY or when some kind of freaky wrap-doll is found in the chimney of their home. But there is never a moment where the family stops and takes a second to think about what is really going on or any time the viewer is given a clue to the cause of all of this in the end. Not even a shot of a dude standing in a corner. It does remind me of the simplicity conveyed in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT; without the minimal payoff you get from the end of that one. The final moments sum up what the authorities have gathered on this case and then cuts to black. I appreciate the film going all the way to the end and staying into character as a found footager, but without any kind of resolution other than the camera stopping, it really is just two people screaming and running around in the dark. ITS NAME WAS MORMO is an example of a found footager going authentic as can be, but lacking a fleshed-out plot, motivation for the threat, or even backstory of the characters. It simply is the footage, out of context with what happened before and after filming. Yes, that makes it feel real, but by doing so, it sacrificed key story elements which made it a less than entertaining watch.