Cannes 2023: The Enigmatic Terror of Egypt’s ‘The Call of the Brook’

Almost every culture around the world has its own version of the monstrous feminine, be it Medusa, the Yuki-Onna of Japanese folklore, or flesh-eating mermaids. They all usually take the form of stunningly beautiful women, often devouring young men. In Egypt, El-Nadaha (‘The Caller’) haunted every young Egyptian while growing up. The tale goes that a female spirit calls on you at night. The demoness, usually situated by the Nile, the sea, canals, or a brook, depending on which version of the folktale you hear, lures men into following her, before they end up drowning, or losing their mind.When I heard that an Egyptian filmmaker was tackling this tale at the Cannes Film Festival, I was thrilled. However, given Egypt’s track record when it comes to the horror genre, I had to lower my expectations. That said, I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed watching this short. It doesn’t rely on cliché scare tactics such as cheap jump scares, and instead unsettle viewers using eerie imagery and a dreadful sinister tone.The film is centred around a protective mother and her son. We learn that, years ago, the father of the household was a victim of the menacing spirit haunting their rural village. There’s an old Egyptian saying that goes, if you’re scared of something, you’ll attract its presence. Sure enough, El-Nadaha makes her first appearance.

To say anything more would spoil the film for you, but I did find myself wanting more. What’s even more impressive is that Jad Chahine shot this film over the course of a single day. Give this young man a budget and a lengthier shooting schedule, and there’s no telling what he can achieve.Chahine clearly has a good understanding of the importance of constraint in filming spine-chilling tales. With great horror films, it’s not what you reveal on screen that matters, but what you leave out of the frame; there’s nothing more frightening than our own imagination. I hope that one day Chahine turns this short film into a full-length feature that builds on the mother-child relationship. Afterall, sometimes the true horror is not out there, but within.‘The Call of the Brook’ was selected to compete in the festival’s La Cinef competition.