Black Mold is a 2023 American psychological horror film, written and directed by John Pata. The film stars Agnes Albright and Andrew Bailes as two Urbex photographers, Brooke and Tanner, who are on an exploration tour of abandoned houses on the outskirts of Milwaukee, looking to get some shots. Despite this, these buildings are just the warm-up for their main event: Franklin Hill, a dilapidated government testing facility that has been left to rot in disrepair for the last several decades. While the pair scout out the main building, they come across an erratic homeless man, who attacks and imprisons them. However, once they awaken from the attack, they realise that this paranoid vagrant is the least of their worries as the moldy environment starts to alter their perception.
From the very beginning, there is a level of ambiguity as to when the story takes place. Although a year is never disclosed, the lack of digital technology would suggest the film takes place around the 80s/90s. However, there are elements of the story that maintain a more modern feel, never fully leaning into any retro aesthetics or terminology. Nevertheless, this delivers a deliberate, non-intrusive dismissal of the standard “Damn, no bars” trope that plagues films with a more modern setting.
The film only subtly alludes to the negative effects of these moldy environments, even though it is present from the beginning. Bizarre occurrences plague the main characters. Even though these visuals presented are over the top, the audience is still left questioning the validity of what they are witnessing because each character experiences them as real. This creates a fascinating blurring of the line between reality and the horrific dreamscape.
Unfortunately, while successfully crafting an incredible atmosphere through the environments, the plot’s progression frequently stalls out with extended exposition dumps. The pacing slows to a crawl, hampering the rising tension that often stops dead rather than building into efficient horror. Indeed, that seems to be Black Mold’s biggest problem—its elements of horror are presented as an afterthought. Brooke’s personal past trauma is treated as a prominent story element but has a poor payoff. Undoubtedly, a more peripheral examination of this character arc would have allowed the story’s horror to play a more important role during the second act.
In spite all of this, Black Mold consistently delivers amazing visuals, utilising numerous techniques and approaches. The cinematography features a multitude of different styles, including a technical tracking shot during the opening, lots of soft focus shots, low angles, and wide shots, making great use of the large, decrepit environments. The film’s sound design is impeccably crafted, amplifying ambient sounds such as footsteps and glass cracking underfoot, while providing an exacerbating score to accompany the film. Subtly varying in range, slowly creeping in volume and intensity from quiet and calm to a rambunctious allegro; the sound design certainly assists in reinforcing a scene’s chaotic tone.
Whilst competently made and visually beautiful, Black Mold’s focus on exposition and mild disregard for its aspects of horror during the second act is ultimately its major problem. While the film can hardly be called bad, this certainly holds it back from being a truly great horror film. However, with its astounding visual design, intuitive score, and absorbing premise, the film is still an enjoyable experience that is sure to entertain.
We watched Black Mold (2023) at FrightFest 2023
More Film Festival Coverage
We Put the World to Sleep is a 2025 found footage horror/faux documentary written and directed by AdrianȚofei, with additional writing by Duru Yücel. Filmed across 13 cities, villages, and… Six days of unforgettable cinema experiences are over. In its 25th anniversary edition, the Japanese film festival Nippon Connection once again set an audience record with around 20,000 visitors over… There are movies that are sometimes too much even for the seasoned horror fan – for the 2012 version of myself, one such movie was the remake of William Lustig’s… After purchasing a 360 camera, an aspiring filmmaker Nina Temich decides that she is going to follow her dream of being a film director. However, a trained dancer from an… The Sadness has been a film making some early commotion due to an extreme and graphic nature – a new angle on the zombie genre in the age of our… My Mother’s Eyes is a 2023 Japanese science fiction psychological thriller, written and directed by Takeshi Kushida. No stranger behind the camera, Kushida is also the creative mind behind the…![We Put the World to Sleep (2025) Film Review – Metaphysical Found Footage [Nightmares Film Festival 2025]](https://www.grimoireofhorror.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/We-Put-the-World-to-Sleep-2025-cover-365x180.jpg)
We Put the World to Sleep (2025) Film Review – Metaphysical Found Footage [Nightmares Film Festival 2025]
Nippon Connection 2025 Award Winners
Night Caller (2021) Film Review – Meet the New Maniac
Putrefixation: A Video of Nina Temich (2022) Film Review – 360 Degrees of Horror
The Sadness Film Review – What The F*** Did I Just Watch!?
![My Mother’s Eyes (2023) Film Review – Beyond Sanity [FrightFest]](https://www.grimoireofhorror.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/My-Mothers-Eyes-cover-photo-365x180.jpg)
My Mother’s Eyes (2023) Film Review – Beyond Sanity [FrightFest]
Hey there, I’m Jim and I’m located in London, UK. I am a Writer and Managing Director here at Grimoire of Horror. A lifelong love of horror and writing has led me down this rabbit hole, allowing me to meet many amazing people and experience some truly original artwork. I specialise in world cinema, manga/graphic novels, and video games but will sometime traverse into the unknown in search of adventure.