The Tokoloshe (2018)

The Tokoloshe is a South African horror movie that came out in 2018.

This movie is about a young woman who is struggling financially reluctantly takes a job at a hospital as a cleaner where she meets a young girl tormented by a monster.

BRUHHHH I broke my own streak 😭 I really wanted to post every single day for the month of October but excuses aside, I just didn't make it. Let's keep motoring with DAY 14 of Horror movies in October. Reminder: usually like to briefly recap the beginning of the movie as a teaser before my random ass thoughts. Not always good at hiding spoilers but I try.

The protagonist of The Tokoloshe is Busi (pronounced almost like "boo-zhee" keep your head out of the gutter ya perverts!) And she starts working at this hospital with some sketchy ass people. A day in the life of a young attractive woman getting catcalled and preyed on by predators is a theme running here and I don't like it.

Busi soon comes across a little girl named Gracie who claims she is constantly terrorized by the Tokoloshe but little does she know just how far that rabbit hole goes the more she wants to help Gracie.

This movie is somewhat of a slow burn but it did grab my attention and I liked that the movie just went straight the the plot. Movies tend to lose me when they try to build it up with random chatter and it goes a little too long, ya know? The one in particular went straight into the obvious creepy as fuck hospital and Busi being accepted with her position as a cleaner. She come across Gracie who says she is haunted by the Tokoloshe. Who is heck is that you ask?

In the Zulu/Xhosa mythology, the Tokoloshe (goes by various spellings) is an evil water sprite that lures children for malevolent purposes anywhere from low level fright but can escalate all the way to death. Legend says that you can avert any encounters by putting bricks under every leg of your bed. But hey, that's just a mythology. 

I definitely liked the fact we finally get to see more of South African folklore into horror movies. Just watching so many Bloody Mary and Sleepy Hollow themed movies and tv shows it's almost lost any fright in me. So I think this movie is a breath of fresh air. 

Now to the writing of the movie is a different story. Some scenes and side plots simply didn't need to exist and either did absolutely nothing to build up the plot or added to an already saturated background. It was minor stuff luckily so it's not a huge biggie. I did wish they cut certain scenes and expanded on others such as the scene with the blind man. 

Whoever wrote this movie just didn't want Busi to catch a break. She clearly had an immense terror of a childhood and now as an adult, she is constantly harassed by men. It's an unfortunate reality many women face so I do see why this movie shines a light on it. It really tugged at my heartstrings when it came to unearthing her dynamic with her family.  Another depressing reality. 

I saw the movie twice and I still don't get the ending. I think I get the implication but at the same time I think I don't. So I don't know if I like the ending or not. At face value, it left me rather perturbed and questioning my own existence. Maybe because I am just hungry. Idk.

So if this movie had a message, what would be it? Trauma, it comes in all packages. 

Disclaimers? Well definitely sad I had to say it but there's a lot of implications of sexual abuse towards the main character Busi both past and present. You may find that triggering but it's somber scenes was hard to watch. No graphic scenes. Distress cries of a child is throughout this movie so avoid if that unsettles you.

Age demographics? Mature teens and up. No nudity. No gore. Just a lot of sad stuff.

That being said, what is my verdict?

New fear unlocked. Great movie despite the choppiness at some points

If you are interested in watching The Tokoloshe, then please CLICK HERE to see which streaming platforms you can catch it on via the free streaming guide app JUSTWATCH!