SCREAMFEST 2024: Ba (2024)

Daniel (Lawrence Kao) wants to remain with his young daughter Collette (Kai Cech) and the only way that he can make enough cash to do that is to become the Grim Reaper. When he needs to, his face becomes a skull and all he has to do is touch someone to kill them and he must never tell his child. I mean, how would you?

Director and writer Benjamin Wong has created a movie that isn’t about the herky jerky possession jump scares of modern horror, but instead about a relationship between a father and his daughter, as well as the love they have for each other. This also reminds me of the massive debt that so many of us have to take on, not just emotionally but monetarily, as a strange man keeps coming for tokens from each kill, reminding Daniel that he owes eleven times what he has borrowed.

By the end, Daniel must remain hidden so no one can see his face and he watches as a social worker by the name of Macey (Shelli Boone) takes Collette away to a foster family who can give her the life she truly deserves. What an intriguing concept and one well made, too.