(2026)
Written & Directed by Christian Carroll
Starring Briar Rose, Lydia Peckham, Katlyn Wong, Joel Tobeck, Jonny Brugh, Bruce Hopkins

I love when films bring something new to the table when it comes to the “monster”. And by that, I mean, when we delve into the rich, untapped folklore, or even creating a new creature that sounds like it could come from a hundred-year-old tale, it is so refreshing compared to just another vampire, zombie, or other monster that we’ve seen over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, I love those monsters too, but it’s always nice to see something different. And we get that with Broken Beak.

The story, originally called The Burning of Broken Beak, was written and directed by Christian Carroll, who also provided the score too! Busy guy. This is Carroll’s first horror feature, and I like what I’ve seen. The film stars off with a brutal murder of a man who just made a huge deal to sell some land in New Zealand that is going to be turned into a huge tourist area. After the deal, he wanders a deserted beach area, not sure if he’s celebrating or regretting what he’s done, but then he is brutally stabbed to death by what looks like a person in a bird costume?

We then jump to New York, to photographer Emma, known for her activism work in defending the environment and animals, gets a call that her uncle has been murdered, and she needs to come back to New Zealand for the reading of the will. She and her partner, Jackie, make the trip back there, with Jackie excited to do some surfing, while Emma seems to have apprehension about going to a place she left behind years before. When she is third on the list of inheritances, getting only a house, which is the property she’s staying at. While the adult son and daughter of the uncle start to fight over what they got, there still seems to be something else at work here. Paula, the uncle’s housekeeper, seems to be very upset at the little amount that she is getting from the estate, even claiming the lawyer changed the will.

Then there is another brutal killing. And another one. All the while, Emma starts to have either waking nightmares or hallucinations about this human/bird creature, known from a poem called the Burning of Broken Beak, that she was told as a young girl, by Paula. This story is told to us viewers in the form of some old-style shadow puppet animation which is very cool, done by Brittany Bartley.

Another thing I really thought was unique about this film is that it starts in black and white. There’s a couple of scenes where it seems to start to blend in some color or going to full color like during the backstory of Broken Beak, but then back to being monochromatic. Then about halfway through, it finally transfers over to color. A very interesting choice to do something like that, but the black and white photography still captures the mood. Is this the only transformation we’re witnessing?

During one conversation between Emma and the person she goes to visit to try to find answers to what is going on, she’s told, “I wish we could bring all the old monsters back. We need monsters to scare us, to keep the world alive.” I just love that line of dialogue! Whether it is a statement just for this movie, or about the world in general, I thought it was a great message that has some pretty deep meaning, depending on how much you want to delve into it.

As the story plays out, we’re learning as Emma does, though we’re not sure if what we’re seeing is real or not. Is Emma just having a nervous breakdown, something buried in her childhood that hasn’t come out yet? Is there something else going on that is pushing her into madness? Or is it something simpler?

I give the filmmakers a lot of credit for the title creature, whether it’s real or not, is a visual treat. I love the folklore story, what it means to locals, and how it is relevant today. Briar Rose does an excellent job here as Emma, really showing some depth into her character as she battles with her brain and inner emotions.

Much like the last film I reviewed, The Devil Whispered My Name, Broken Beak had also screened at the recent Raindance Film Festival in London. I hope they are able to get picked up because I do think this is a film people need to see. Not going to blow them away, but it really shows when you have a good story, which is brought to life by some talented actors, and really shows some artistic cinematography, that is always a good thing, and something to be shared.

I know they’ve changed the name to just Broken Beak, but I found this poster online with the original title and I just love the artwork they created for it.