A Wolf at the Door
SXSW Film Festival
Director: Fernando Coimbra

This twisted Brazilian tale of secrets, lies and marital affairs starts right off the bat with a child abduction. As Sylvia (Fabiula Nascimento) learns of her daughter’s kidnapping, she is brought into the police station along with her husband, Bernardo (Milhem Cortaz), for questioning. While Sylvia hasn’t a clue of why someone would kidnap the child of a lower-class family, Bernardo immediately knows the culprit, his former lover Rosa (Leandra Leal). After admitting to the crime, Rosa enlightens the detective of her affair with Bernardo that started out innocently yet spiraled out of control into some of the darkest imagery imaginable. If you thought Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction was terrifying as a fanatical mistress, you’ll be horrified with Leal’s take on the subject matter. Coimbra grants Cortaz and Leal the opportunity to showoff their range as actors as they portray lovers, deceivers and opposing forces. Their transformation is truly shocking. The most terrifying element to Coimbra’s exploration into infidelity is how rapidly everything flips from pleasure to sheer horror. The final minutes will absolutely haunt your memories for far longer than the 100-minute running time.