“I wanted to defy the prescribed notion of motherhood”: Lynne Davison on feminist folk-horror Mandrake

Mandrake is the chilling and atmospheric Northern Irish folk-horror from Lynne Davison landing on Shudder this week. Working from a script by Matt Harvey, crime drama and elevated feminist horror tropes combine to tell a story of an ex-con, Mary (Derbhle Crotty), returning to her rural village where her reputation precedes her, after 20 years inside: found guilty of killing her husband, she’s earned the nickname “Bloody Mary”. When probation officer Cathy (Deirdre Mullins) is landed with her case, she senses there is more to the story than rumour would have it. When two children go missing, drama ensues, while something sinister seems to lurk in the muddy woods. 

The Upcoming had the pleasure of speaking to the filmmaker about making the jump from short films to a feature debut, wanting to tackle different notions of motherhood using genre and how Harvey’s script chimed with her ideas. We discussed the ancient Irish folklore that informed the supernatural elements of the production, the challenges of shooting knee-deep in mud on location and why horror is a fertile medium for exploring feminist ideas.

Sarah Bradbury

Mandrake is available on Shudder on 10^th November 2022. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for Mandrake here: