“Nocebos are the like the evil twin of placebos – they can actually cause harm or even death”: Lorcan Finnegan on Irish-Filipino psychological thriller Nocebo

Viewers will see Casino Royale‘s Eva Green as they have never seen her before in Lorcan Finnegan’s new psychological thriller – and the first Irish-Filipino co-production – Nocebo. The filmmaker behind critically acclaimed Vivarium brings white, Western middle-class guilt into painful focus in this deservedly disturbing movie, propelled by sensational performances from Green and her Filipina co-star, Chai Fonacier.

Taking for its title the concept of negative thoughts affecting the impact of a harmless medication or treatment – the inverse of a placebo – the story explores the unravelling of a fashion designer’s mental state through a heightened, mythical reality after she has a mysterious hallucinatory experience at one of her fashion shows. While the lives of Christine, her partner (Mark Strong) and their child (Billie Gadson) scream success and affluence, a sinister undercurrent starts to unsettle the domestic harmony in their pristine townhouse as insomnia, paranoia, and shaking, stiff limbs cripple Christine’s mind and body. The arrival of Filipina nanny Diana (Fonacier) at first seems a godsend, her traditional healing methods bringing relief for the mother’s suffering, but is she all she seems? Finnegan masterfully weaves nightmare and reality, past and present, Irish and Filipino locations so as to disorientate his audience, while striking and grotesque visuals inescapably crawl underneath one’s skin. It’s hard to walk away from the experience untroubled, nor without an immediate desire to snub the exploitative practices of Western fashion.

The Upcoming caught up with Finnegan ahead of the film’s release to discuss casting and working with his phenomenal female leads, how he infused research about nocebos and Filipino folklore into his story and the themes he wanted to explore through his particular brand of horror. 

Sarah Bradbury

Nocebo is released digitally on demand on 9^th December 2022. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for Nocebo here: