A Mother’s Embrace (Abraço de Mãe)

Opening in Rio de Janeiro 1973 a mother and daughter after a visit to a local fair go home where a fire breaks out. Mother is unconscious Ana is saved but has visions of a foetus.

Move forward to Rio 1996 and the city is preparing for huge storm. Ana (Marjorie Estiano) is now a firefighter (just back from sick leave), and they are on red alert, with the city’s civil defences now activated.

Her team is charged with inspecting a nursing home that could be in danger of collapse. The initial response from owner Drica (Ângelo Rebelo) and manager Ulisses (Javier Drolas) is the don’t want the firefighters there. Nevertheless Ana and her team persevere through the crumbling building. Eventually the decision is taken that the house must be evacuated.

However no one wants to leave and even in the face of the obvious Drica and Ulisses remain obstinate. Spotting a child Ana goes in pursuit of her and so begins a search of building. The team disperses and accidents begin to happen, the residents start to act oddly, all as the storm intensifies and the front door is locked.

Directed by Cristian Ponce, co-written with Gabriella Capello and André Pereira, A Mother’s Embrace is a psychological horror, in a very dense setting, perfect for building up dread. That build is relatively slow mostly centred around Ana, who was badly affected by her estrangement from her mother and death. The accumulated issues are so traumatic that Ana still sees (haunts) her. The nursing home is also close to where she was brought up.

That’s not to say that this is just a probe on the senses, there is something nasty in the basement too and her team start to disappear. The setting and lighting are excellent with Ponce using these elements to heighten the tension, if maybe fall away at the reveals.

The film doesn’t quite knit the psychological element with the creature feature though neither do they cancel each other out. They just sit uncomfortably while the viewer watches on. Ultimately, it’s a testing film to watch and at times frustrating.

A Mother’s Embrace had its UK premiere at Glasgow FrightFest 2025