Tora can’t have a baby for unknown reasons, so she goes to a remote area of Scotland to adopt. When she finds a dead body on her property with ritualistic wounds, it becomes clear that pregnant women are murdered every few years and the town is making a concerted effort to stop every step of her investigation at any cost. The film is predictable (but still suspenseful) up until the end. The oppressive nature of the town, the gorgeous setting, the mythological and historical connections, and the gendered conflict made it just a bit unexpected. The rich and powerful men of the town treat women like livestock, choosing to breed them or kill them as they see fit. A lot of parallels can be made to many countries’ traditional values versus seeing women as people and giving them the rights they deserve.
