Taratoa Stappard’s brooding debut feature plunges us into the dour moors of 1859 North Yorkshire, where the British Empire’s reach casts long and twisted shadows. Mary Stevens (Ariana Osborne), a young Maori teacher from Aotearoa (New Zealand), arrives in search of family truths, only to find the man who summoned her already dead and no clear path home.
Stranded in an unfamiliar and unwelcoming land, Mary accepts work at Hawkser Manor under the seemingly benevolent Sir Nathaniel Cole (Toby Stephens), a wealthy landowner who made his fortune as a South Seas whaler. But within the manor’s cold stone walls — where stolen Maori taonga line the shelves and ancestral whispers echo through dark corridors — Mary’s unease curdles into dread.
Haunted by visions and memories that are not her own, she begins to unravel a horrifying truth. As the sinister nature of Cole’s intentions comes into focus, MARAMA transforms into a blood-tinged reckoning that never shies from the grotesque. What begins as a search for identity becomes a fight for freedom, dignity and spiritual survival.
With striking visual precision and a searing critique of colonial and cultural fetishisation, Stappard conjures a taut gothic atmosphere thick with foreboding. In doing so, he lays claim to a bold new cinematic territory: Maori Gothic, where the thin veneer of Victorian civility is torn away to reveal something truly monstrous beneath. Not ghosts or ghouls, but the legacy of empire itself. (Synopsis from the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival)
“A phenomenal debut, a confident piece of work that takes a familiar genre and makes it feel perfect for the story it's telling. With excellent costume and production design — both essential for the Gothic Horror genre — and a striking lead performance.” —Brian Tallerico, rogerebert.com
“Stappard’s talent is immediately clear in how effectively the film keeps you unsettled. The story progression never goes slack, and Stappard’s scenario offers plenty of thrilling moments for the actors to chew on, providing plenty of entertainment to make the film’s harrowing story go down as smoothly as possible…. It’s a ferocious debut feature that should lead to big things for its talented director and star.” —Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture