FilmPsychological Folk Horror Gothic

Celia1989

Name: Celia
Genre: Psychological, Folk Horror, Gothic
Released: 1989-05-18
Rating: 6.7

“A tale of innocence corrupted.”

Directed by Ann Turner

6.7

Crypt Score

Blended from 2 sources

IMDb 6.8TMDB 6.3

✍ Review

On the charts

#5·Top Horror Movies of 1989

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Year

1989

Runtime

103 min

Box Office

Budget

$1,450,000

Revenue (worldwide)

$50,000

🏆 2 wins & 2 nominations

The premise

In 1950s Australia, young Celia is growing up with a sense of isolation and mistrust of the world that surrounds her. Her mother and father won't let her play with the kids next door because their parents are communists. Then her pet bunny is taken away because of rabbit overpopulation. And, more traumatizing yet, when her grandmother dies, she's the one to discover the corpse. To cope, she retreats into elaborate fantasies.

Horror Vault's take

Set against the backdrop of 1950s suburban Australia, Celia follows a young girl whose world steadily unravels through bereavement, Cold War-era paranoia, and the quiet cruelties of adult authority. As the boundaries between her rich inner fantasy life and waking reality begin to blur, the film builds an understated but deeply unnerving portrait of a child pushed to her limits. Director Ann Turner crafts something rare — a horror film rooted entirely in the ordinary injustices of growing up, where the true monsters wear very familiar faces.

Content: Childhood Trauma, Death Of A Family Member, Depictions Of Animal Death, Disturbing Fantasy Imagery