Our Shaman 2025 movie review covers a film that doesn’t fit the usual mold of our Movie of the Month picks — it’s a horror film, not a documentary or a reverent portrayal of shamanic practice. But Shaman, directed by Antonio Negret and screened at the Raindance Film Festival, raises questions about faith, colonization, and spiritual authority that are worth sitting with, even through a genre lens.
What Shaman (2025) Is About
The film follows a Christian missionary family — Candice (Sara Canning), her husband Joel (Daniel Gillies), and their son Elliot (Jett Klyne) — living in a remote Indigenous community in rural Ecuador. After Elliot wanders into a forbidden cave, he returns seemingly possessed by an ancient, malevolent force. Candice insists a Catholic exorcism will free her son; Joel is skeptical. Meanwhile, the community’s own shamans — sidelined throughout the missionaries’ presence — recognize the spirit as something far older and more dangerous than Western religion is equipped to handle.
Why This Shaman 2025 Movie Review Takes a Critical Angle
Several critics have noted that the film’s most interesting thread is its critique of the “white savior complex”: the local shamans hold real spiritual authority and understanding that the missionary family initially dismisses, only to find themselves needing it. The Los Angeles Times noted the film’s spiritual disagreements between the two sides as one of its more compelling elements, even if not fully developed. It’s a genre film first, but the underlying tension between imposed religion and indigenous spiritual knowledge is worth discussing.
Where It Screened
Shaman premiered theatrically in the US on August 8, 2025, and was later featured at the Raindance Film Festival, a prominent UK-based independent film festival — giving it real crossover visibility with UK audiences interested in genre and world cinema.
Should You Watch It?
If you’re looking for a gentle, uplifting portrayal of shamanic practice, this isn’t it — approach it as a horror film that happens to engage with real questions about colonization and spiritual authority, not as an educational piece. Critics have given it a 64% score, with somewhat higher audience approval, suggesting it lands better with genre fans than critics looking for full thematic follow-through.
