DVD Review: Not Forgotten
Not Forgotten (2009)
Studio: Starz/Anchor Bay
Release Date: November 3, 2009
Directed By: Dror Soref
Cast: Simon Baker, Paz Vega, Chloe Moretz, Michael DeLorenzo & Julie Vera
Review By: Annie Riordan
Years after tragically losing his first wife and mother of his child, Jack Bishop seems to have his life in order again. He’s got a good job, coaches a champion girls soccer team and is remarried to the sweet and pretty Amaya who is a devoted stepmom to eleven year old Toby. But with the onset of Toby’s menstrual cycle, her relationship with her dad becomes a bit strained. Nothing serious; nothing that millions of fathers and daughters haven’t dealt with before, and surely nothing that would make Toby want to run away from home. But when Toby disappears from soccer practice one afternoon, the police hypothesize that she may have done just that. Jack and Amaya however are insistent: Toby is not a runaway. They’re sure she’s been kidnapped, and a search of registered sex offenders in the area lead police to a very likely suspect.
But the deeper authorities dig into his past, the more Jack Bishop seems indeed to have no past. There’s no birth certificate for him, no death certificate for his first wife, nothing at all…except for an old mug shot that bears a close resemblance to him. Arrested and jailed, Jack soon escapes and makes his way to the seedy Mexico border towns where prostitution reigns supreme and La Santa Muerte – the Goddess of Death – rules over all. Jack is going to get his daughter back no matter what, and he has the dark occult power of Saint Death on his side. But the people that have taken Toby have powers even greater than his, and Jack’s bloody past is about to catch up with him in a most unexpected manner.
I have to admit that I’m surprised there aren’t more horror movies featuring the practice of Santa Muerte worship, a ritual condemned by Mexico’s Catholic Church as being on par with Satanism, but which is still very popular among the lower classes and criminal population. It’s a fascinating subculture that really hasn’t been explored as much as it could be. Not Forgotten doesn’t delve as deep as it could, perhaps because Santa Muerte worship has only become semi-public over the last decade. Instead, the movie remains a crime-thriller up until the final half hour or so, when it suddenly decides to throw in a dash of Kill Bill and a pinch of The Believers.
Chloe Morentz as Toby really steals this film. Already a veteran actress at the age of twelve with 29 projects tucked under her belt thus far, this kid has a real shot at being a big deal in Hollywood someday. Her narration is cynical beyond her years and her facial expressions are amazing. She outshines her co-stars, although Paz Vega is a lovely to look at Penelope Cruz lookalike and Simon Baker exudes a subtle creepiness which is very much at odds with his doting father persona.
The story is pretty straightforward and the twist ending predictable, but not badly executed. The film only scratches the surface of Santa Muerte and the world of sleaze for sale just south of the border: I kinda wish they’d had the bravery (or perhaps the budget) to sink further into that sick realm, but it does do the best it can with what it is able to show us.
Not bad. Not great, but worth a watch for Moretz’s performance alone.
Brutal As Hell Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5
