Godmother features every couple’s worst nightmare when trying to have a relaxing vacation away from everything… a third wheeling sibling… and a creepy old couple who own the Airbnb. The film comes from director John Veron and writers Veron and Alanah Pearce. Set in the High Desert, the film immediately kicks off with some relatable awkwardness between an older couple, the Martinsons (Dee Wallace and Bruce Davison) who own an Airbnb that Colby (Cameron Cuffe) and Theo (Paige Evans) have rented for a romantic getaway. However, that changes when Theo brings along her sister, Katie (Riley Dandy). Katie is eccentric and coming off some bad relationships. There’s obviously something a little off with the Martinsons as the movie goes along and that’s the central mystery of the film.
People butt heads, desert “strays” show up at the Airbnb, and Colby and Katie go head-to-head. Around the 30-minute mark, the film flips, and we get to the real meat of the terror.
Godmother is incredibly relatable up until the point that it tips, and then it goes full bore into a nightmare.
Yes, at a certain point Godmother veers right into Rosemary’s Baby territory with all the impregnation for a world-ending god to be born stuff. Dee Wallace and Bruce Davison are both fantastic as the cheery but definitely goddamn creepy old people. While you can see SOMETHING bad coming from a mile away, the performers here do a great job. Paige Evans and Riley Dandy in particular are fantastic in their roles, with Cameron Cuffe also doing the doting boyfriend role well.
As the film goes on, the color palette changes from desert warm tones to red and black darkness. It’s in this last third that Godmother really kicks into gear. Everything here has undertones of how we treat women in daily life and the forcing of motherhood on them. It’s particularly telling that the two antagonists are elderly folks who want a return to the old way of doing things.
The ending of Godmother might be the most shocking part of the whole thing though. There’s a moment where you think it’ll be a nice resolution and a change to the status quo, and then it hits you with a right hook that is absolutely horrifying.
The design of the monster at the end of the film is masterful, truly a grotesque creature worthy of all the buildup. Through it all though, Godmother is a solid horror flick with something to say. Its led by some great performances that do the material justice. It might be derivative of some other films, and there are some things that aren’t explained as well, but it does the job for a nearly 90-minute thrill.
It offers a starmaking performance from Paige Evans as Theo, where she gets down and dirty, but also vulnerable as hell. This is truly a nightmare for every girl out there and a fantastic way to spend your night watching.
Godmother doesn’t have a release date yet and premiered at Fantastic Fest 2026.
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