Maya the Sacrifice
A grieving daughter returns to the Philippines for her father's burial, only to confront nightmares entwined with family loss and ancestral dread.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- eerie
- melancholic
- intimate
- late night horror viewing
- short film festival viewing
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Maya's recurring nightmares begin after her father's death and drive the film's emotional and supernatural tension.
Maya returns from Chicago to the Philippines to bury her father beside her mother.
The six-minute short foregrounds recurring nightmares and bats as concentrated horror motifs.
Maya's mother died at her birth, while her father's death triggers the return and nightmares.
Films like Maya the Sacrifice, and why
The Babadook
supernatural grief, recurring nightmares, and psychologically unsettling atmosphere
Relic
female-centered supernatural horror shaped by family trauma and dread
The Wailing
dreamlike horror, bereavement, and culturally specific supernatural unease
Movie Details
- Directors
- Maria Bertola, Paolo Bertola
- Release Date
- 2019-10-09
- Runtime
- 6 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (1)
Cast
- Maria Brenda
Common questions
- What is Maya the Sacrifice about?
- A grieving daughter returns to the Philippines for her father's burial, only to confront nightmares entwined with family loss and ancestral dread.
- What is Maya the Sacrifice like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Maya the Sacrifice as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Maya the Sacrifice violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Maya the Sacrifice.
- Which films are like Maya the Sacrifice?
- Films with a similar feel include The Babadook, Relic, and The Wailing.
- How long is Maya the Sacrifice?
- Maya the Sacrifice runs 6 minutes.
