Separation
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Brent Bell
Written by
Produced by
  • Jordan Beckerman
  • William Brent Bell
  • Jesse Korman
  • Jordan Yale Levine
  • Clay Pecorin
  • Russ Posternak
Starring
CinematographyKarl Walter Lindenlaub
Edited byBrian Berdan
Music byBrett Detar
Production
companies
  • RainMaker Films
  • Yale Productions
Distributed by
Release date
  • April 30, 2021 (2021-04-30)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.5 million[1][2]

Separation is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by William Brent Bell, from a screenplay by Nick Amadeus and Josh Braun. It stars Rupert Friend, Mamie Gummer, Madeline Brewer, Violet McGraw, Simon Quarterman, and Brian Cox. The film follows a father who must take care of his daughter, after his wife, who filed for divorce, suddenly dies in an accident, as the two become haunted by a mysterious entity.

Separation was released on April 30, 2021, by Open Road Films and Briarcliff Entertainment. It received mainly negative reviews from critics.

Plot

Illustrator Jeff Vahn is forced into divorce by his wife Maggie, who also fights for sole custody of their daughter Jenny. Failing at his career and distraught at the possibility of losing Jenny, Jeff argues over the phone with Maggie, who is then killed in a hit and run.

After Maggie's funeral, Jeff has recurring nightmares of spirits lurking around the house. Maggie's father, Paul Rivers, prepares to sue Jeff for custody after seeing his tactless treatment of Jenny, who reverts to a state of depression and begins acting strangely. Unable to successfully comfort or help her, Jeff reaches out to an old friend for a small job opportunity at a comic book company. In a trance Jeff draws a peculiar figure, and it is shown that the same figure is watching over Jenny.

Jenny's babysitter, Samantha Nally, begins watching her full-time as Jeff starts his new job. Samantha attempts to be a mother figure to Jenny, who sinks deeper into depression. The house is revealed to be inhabited by spirits who possess some of Jenny's puppet toys, and Jeff keeps entering trances where he draws frightening creatures whom the spirits bring to life. These spirits interact with Jenny, who realizes she is the only one who can see them. But despite his inability to truly see the spirits, Jeff begins to suspect that the ghosts are controlled by Maggie, who is haunting him as punishment for his anger towards her and treatment of Jenny.

After Jenny survives an allergic reaction to her food, Jeff decides to move upstate so she can live closer to Paul. Jeff also earns a promotion at work, and amicably resolves the custody battle with Paul. However, a private investigator contacts Paul with the identity of Maggie's killer, Samantha, who then pushes Paul from the house's second story.

Jeff races home, where the injured Paul reveals the truth to him. Samantha admits that she's in love with Jeff, and killed Maggie to protect him; she also poisoned Jenny's food, believing Jenny was keeping her from getting closer to Jeff. Jeff realizes Maggie's ghost truly has come back for revenge and is leading the other ghosts—however, her revenge is against Samantha, not Jeff. Maggie kills Samantha, and Jenny goes up the attic to talk with Maggie. She slips and Jeff attempts to catch her, but they both free-fall from the attic window. Jeff and Jenny wake up uninjured on the ground, and realize Maggie saved them from the fall. As Maggie's spirit departs, first responders arrive at the house.

Cast

  • Rupert Friend as Jeff Vahn
  • Mamie Gummer as Maggie Vahn
  • Madeline Brewer as Samantha Nally
  • Brian Cox as Paul Rivers
  • Violet McGraw as Jenny Vahn
  • Simon Quarterman as Alan Ross
  • Mark Pettograsso as Brian Cox's stunt double
  • Eric Troy Miller as Connor Gibbons
  • Manny Perez as Officer Pitt
  • Lorrie Odom as Officer Rossi
  • Lilah Shreeve as Barista
  • Chelsea Debo as Cori
  • Kayla Wesley as Young Jenny
  • Ratnesh Dubey as Male Paramedic
  • Trey Ellett as Dad
  • Anna Maria Vargas as Teenage Girl

Production

In October 2018, it was announced Rupert Friend would star in the film, with William Brent Bell directing from a screenplay by Nick Amadeus and Josh Braun. Bell, Jordan Yale Levine, Jordan Beckerman, Russ Posternak, Jesse Korman, Clay Pecorin and Russell Geyser, were announced as producers under their Yale Productions and RainMaker Films banners, respectively.[3] In November 2018, Mamie Gummer, Madeline Brewer, Brian Cox and Violet McGraw joined the cast of the film.[4]

In early 2020, the film was in final stages of post-production.[5]

Release

In March 2021, Open Road Films and Briarcliff Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film, and set it for an April 23, 2021, release.[6] It was then pushed back to April 30, 2021.[7]

Reception

Box office

The film made $1.8 million from 1,751 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing fourth at the box office.[8] It fell 40% in its second weekend to $1.1 million, finishing sixth.[9]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 7% of 30 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.30/10. The website's consensus reads: "A lifeless divorce drama cosplaying as a horror film, Separation is a disjointed mess that fails to escape its formulaic trappings."[10] Audiences surveyed by PostTrak gave the film a 42% positive score, with 27% saying they would definitely recommend it.[8]

Nick Schager of Variety called the film's story "a dull and misogynistic affair that imagines multiple types of women as malevolent fiends who terrorize supposedly sympathetic men", and criticized its script and performances.[11] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "attempts to inject scares into a Kramer vs. Kramer-inspired scenario", but "squanders its intriguing setup and terrific performances by devolving into familiar genre tropes."[12] A. A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film a D grade, writing: "this bargain-basement thriller approaches both its jack-in-the-box scares and its domestic scenario with the negligence of an unfit parent; it will spook neither the superstitious nor the matrimonially anxious."[13] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film 0/4 stars, calling it "a movie that fails as both a domestic drama and as a horror flick" and "a viciously misogynistic film that feels like the result of a drunk guy at a bar wondering if his ex-wife is so cruel that she would haunt him from beyond the grave."[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Separation (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Separation (2021)". The Numbers. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (October 23, 2018). "Rupert Friend to Star in Divorce-Themed Horror Film 'Separation' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  4. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (November 9, 2018). "Mamie Gummer, Madeline Brewer, Brian Cox Join William Brent Bell's 'Separation'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  5. ↑ "'The Boy' & 'The Devil Inside' Director William Brent Bell Lines up Folk-Horror 'Lord of Misrule' with 'The Quiet Ones' Scribe, Bankside Launches at EFM". February 19, 2020.
  6. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 1, 2021). "Open Road & Briarcliff Land 'Separation', Set April Wide Release For William Brent Bell-Helmed Horror Film With Brian Cox & Rupert Friend". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  7. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 24, 2021). "Open Road Horror Feature 'Separation' Moves To Late April Following 'Black Widow's Move To July". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  8. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 2, 2021). "'Mortal Kombat' & 'Demon Slayer' Continue To Duke It Out In Second Weekend Of Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  9. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 9, 2021). "Jason Statham & Guy Ritchie Reteam 'Wrath Of Man' Leads Weekend With A- CinemaScore, As Exhibition Looks Forward To Summer". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Separation". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  11. ↑ Schager, Nick (April 29, 2021). "'Separation' Review: A Scattershot and Oft-Misogynistic Thriller". Variety. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  12. ↑ Scheck, Frank (April 29, 2021). "'Separation': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  13. ↑ Dowd, A. A. (April 29, 2021). "Separation is a lousy divorce drama by way of a crappy horror movie". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  14. ↑ Tallerico, Brian (April 30, 2021). "Separation movie review & film summary (2021)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
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