CUFF 2025 Recap Pt. 2 — Tentacles, Sensuality & Subtitled Chaos (bonus) Cade and Kit

We’re back with Part 2 of our Calgary Underground Film Festival recap — and this one’s all about unexpected pairings. We watched a double-feature that had everything from underwater creatures to exhibitionist neighbors… and we’re still processing.

Here’s what happened when we watched A Mother’s Embrace and Two Women back to back — because nothing says “emotional range” like a tentacle demon followed by a French comedy about self-discovery and awkward flirting.

🐙 A Mother’s Embrace – Suspenseful, Alien & Unnerving

A Spanish-language creature feature that actually had us on the edge of our seats. From the eerie nursing home setting to the terrifying underwater sequences, this one felt like The Descent meets Guillermo del Toro — if Guillermo was sadder and more flooded.

💧 Woman with trauma returns to the source of her past🏚️ Nursing home + storm + creepy staff = instant tension🦑 Cult behavior, missing responders, and one truly wild tentacled being

🧠 It doesn’t explain everything — but it doesn’t need to. It’s high-suspense horror that earns its scares without cheap tricks.

📊 Our Scores: Kit – 8.5, Cade – 9
🔁 Rewatch Status: HIGH. We might’ve missed something. Or a lot.

🇫🇷 Two Women – Funny, French, and Deeply Human

A slice-of-life comedy that’s somehow about postpartum recovery, aging, bisexuality, meds, marriage, divorce, exhibitionism, and cooperative garden planning. It’s messy, honest, and weirdly sweet.

🏠 Two neighbors form a friendship that turns into a liberation spiral📦 From baby monitors to rat control to hired flings — it’s chaos💬 Delivered with humor, charm, and just enough absurdity to make you laugh out loud

Think: “Eat Pray Love” but in a Montreal apartment building with a crow screaming through the wall. And somehow it all works.

📊 Our Scores: Kit – 7, Cade – 7
🍷 Watch With: Your friends, your siblings, or even your mom (but maybe not your boss)

🍿 Cade & Kit Pairing Picks (CUFF Pt. 2 Edition):

• Drink: Electrolytes (after the flood) + French red wine (after the neighbor seduction)

• Snack: Something crunchy to stress-eat while trying to decipher the cult ritual

• Activity: Whisper-laughing “what is happening” during A Mother’s Embrace, then quoting Two Women on the ride home

  
  

💬 Have you ever seen two more opposite movies in one night? Which would you rather survive: a psychic sea creature ceremony, or an awkward apartment affair? Tell us.

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