Shudder Secrets: Mandrake Explained

Mandrake has a centuries-old history as one of the most powerful plants in witchcraft and sorcery. Beyond that, its roots (hehe) go as far back as Greek mythology. Circe and Aphrodite used it as an aphrodisiac. In the Bible, the mandrake root helps Rachel conceive Jacob in the Book of Genesis. It even occupies pop culture, making an appearance in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

In director Lynne Davison’s haunting Mandrake, the root plant is again used, this time in the context of Irish folk horror involving a witch and ancient evil. Davison’s film draws on many different superstitions and folk tales, creating a sometimes befuddling narrative. But her film is eerily mesmerizing and spellbinding in its establishment of atmosphere and mob mentality.

Mandrake’s Handling of Reality and the Fantastic

The feature works best when it balances the banality of everyday life with the fantastical. The film stars Deirdre Mullins as Cathy. She works as a probation officer who truly believes in her job, as tough as it is. The first time we’re introduced to her, she’s assaulted by a hooligan after she tells him and his friend not to loiter and get a move on.

Cathy agrees to take up the case of “Bloody Mary,” aka Mary Laidlaw (Derbhle Crotty). She’s out of prison after killing her husband, who tried to burn her. She has the scars to prove it. Cathy’s role is to help Mary acclimate to life post-prison, and unlike others in the otherwise sleepy village, she doesn’t believe that Mary conjures demons in her free time.

Yet, there’s something about Mary that just doesn’t seem quite right. Her house hangs low as if part of the earth. Moss clings to everything. Her home has no heat, leaving Mary and Cathy to shiver upon their first meeting. Mary also has a habit of asking Cathy deeply personal questions about her failed marriage to officer Paul Kennedy (Jason Reid). Most of the questions pertain to Cathy’s inability to conceive a second child and whether or not that ended the marriage. He moved on and has a new woman, Grace (Roisin Gallagher). Cathy does her best to maintain professionalism and put up a defense against Mary’s domineering and dark presence. Immediately, you have to wonder if the stories about witchcraft are true. It also helps that Crotty simply commands the screen with her long black hair and piercing stares. Her performance is effective, icy, and soul-stirring.

Mandrake and Mob Mentality

Mandrake takes its time establishing its world, especially Mary’s backstory and Cathy’s very real day-to-day struggles. In that regard, it takes a little time for the horror to ramp up. The feature raises the pressure slowly, but it kicks into higher gear when two kids go missing, essentially kidnapped in the dense woods by Mary and her helper in hand (son may?) Thomas (Seamus O’Hara). When police discover the children dead, their bodies resting upon a bed of leaves, their hands folded over their chests, the town goes nuts. They demand the witch be burned.

While this film has plenty of witchcraft, it also shows the horrors of mob mentality. Mary exists on the margins of society, and too many townspeople are quick to believe every single rumor about her and condemn her without any concrete evidence. Yet, she’s more than capable of protecting herself not only with magic but by laying traps beneath piles of leaves surrounding her earthy home.

Mandrake’s Complicated Folklore

The second half of the film is challenging, with a narrative tougher to follow. There’s a demon of sorts called the wandering man that Mary frequently conjures or wants to conjure. Is that the point of sacrificing children? It’s hard to say. There’s also a moment where Mary and Thomas kidnap Cathy and drag her on a chain through the mud to locate the mandrake root, which screeches like a dying child when pulled.

Mandrake here is associated with fertility more than anything else, at least when you consider Cathy’s backstory and the reason her marriage failed, hence Mary’s very personal questions from the get-go. In that regard, it’s difficult to say if Mary’s intentions are to help Cathy or not. Is she trying to give Cathy more agency over her own body? Maybe. There’s a sense that everything Mary does has a purpose and makes sense in her own mind, but it doesn’t quite make sense to the viewer. Even the role of Thomas is too unclear.

It’s also difficult to separate the film from the recent political discourse in Ireland regarding abortion rights. After mass protests, abortion became legal in Ireland during the first trimester after a referendum passed in 2018 that repealed an amendment outlawing the procedure. This is a film in which pregnancy and a female’s bodily autonomy are front and center. It’s also likely why this film may resonate in the US since the Supreme Court struck down Roe last summer.

Regardless of the film’s befuddling second half, Mandrake pulls you into its bleak world. It’s a feature where something dark, brooding, and ancient lurks, ready to rise from the earth. To what purpose, however, is unclear. Still, Davison has an engrossing and disquieting movie here that pulls from various folktales while trying to establish its own mythology. Mullins and Crotty really carry this picture. Crotty’s performance is especially bewitching. This, coupled with the cold atmosphere, makes for one frightening tale.

Mandrake arrives on Shudder on November 10. Keep updated on the streaming service’s latest witchy content by following my Shudder Secrets column.