Get ready to trade your tea and crumpets for a dose of righteous Māori vengeance. Dark Sky Films and Watermelon Pictures have joined forces to unleash MĀRAMA—a genre-defying gothic horror that’s been haunting the festival circuit from TIFF to Sitges—into select theaters this April.
Colonialism Meets Its Match
Forget what you know about polite Victorian dramas. Set in 1859 North Yorkshire, MĀRAMA follows a young Māori woman (played by breakout star Ariāna Osborne) who travels from New Zealand only to find her “inheritance” is a nightmare of colonial trauma.
Instead of playing the victim, she decides to burn the gentry down. It’s a story of identity reclamation, ancestral power, and a very deserved confrontation with a titled Englishman who definitely picked the wrong family to mess with.
The Heavy Hitters
Directed by Māori filmmaker Taratoa Stappard, the film boasts a cast that balances raw New Zealand talent with British stalwarts. Ariāna Osborne is leading the charge in a fierce breakout performance. Toby Stephens brings his Black Sails and Die Another Day gravitas to the Yorkshire moors. Rising star from Bob Marley: One Love, Umi Myers also stars. Erroll Shand and Jordan Mooney are rounding out a powerhouse Kiwi contingent.
A Bold New Partnership
This release marks the first-ever tag team between horror veterans Dark Sky Films and the boundary-pushing Watermelon Pictures. Operating under the MPI Media Group umbrella, the two distributors are proving that the most terrifying stories are often the ones that need to be told the loudest.
Catch it on the Big Screen (April 17)
If you want to witness this reckoning, described as “A Māori Gothic story of retribution that turns the Victorian ‘period piece’ on its head,” you’ll find it at these select locations on April 17, 2026.
-NEW YORK CITY: IFC Center
-LOS ANGELES: Laemmle Monica Film Center
-LOS ANGELES: Laemmle Glendale
