Separation (2021)

A divorcing couple, custody dispute over their eight-year-old daughter, a babysitter infatuated with the husband, and a meddling rich maternal (grand) father are hardly original ideas. Ghosts, apparitions, puppets that move on their own, creepy clowns, contortionists, and a "dark" presence in the house also are not new ideas. The babysitter, who isn't who she says she is, kills the mother via a hit-and-run and hopes to take her place in the family. The deceased mother is enraged and caught between two worlds (wanting to protect and be with her daughter); her creepy mangled body hangs around to remedy the situation before she can move on to the next world. The "ghost mother" maintains a relationship with her daughter but she and puppets in the house (which "come alive") scare the husband and babysitter, apparently with the ultimate goal of killing both and being able to keep her daughter with her forever.
With the mother/wife Maggie and her father Paul being lawyers, their actions during the divorce negotiations demonstrate little or no knowledge about the New York family court's philosophy of "acting in the best interests of the child", parental rights of the biological father, or reasonable ground to terminate parental rights. The selfish and hate-filled trust fund wife/mother does not even consider the negative impact that gaining sole custody of her daughter and relocating to Seattle would have on an eight-year-old. The lawyer wife/mother also fails to know New York law regarding a relocating divorced parent. If a spouse objects to the relocation, the other spouse may NOT relocate the child and the court is most likely to award sole custody to the parent who is not moving across the country! Perhaps Maggie and her father Paul believed they could do whatever they want ("rich privilege"), but this is not true. A judge must approve a negotiated settlement (issue a court order) and would be likely to question why the father's parental rights were being terminated, as well as why the biological father would not want to maintain a relationship with his daughter, who he loved and did not abuse. A judge would also perceive the negotiated settlement as inappropriate (one-sided in favor of the mother) in that the daughter would be losing all contact with her father. The father should have visitation rights!
The slacker father/deadbeat dad who steps up to his role after his wife is killed is also not a novelty. Scenes were put together to make a movie, but there wasn't much movie from the scenes.
Overall, a below-average non-scary "horror" film that is not worth seeing if you have previously watched similar movies.

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