With “The Moogai,” Bell wrestles with the horrors of the past and acknowledges the history of the Aboriginal children who never had a chance at a future.

The monster itself is quite an accomplishment, but the boom in horror movie-making has made us pretty blasé about the grotesque creations the genre can conjure up. Unfortunately, this well-intentioned film isn’t as scary as it’s trying to be.

The horror works on multiple levels, with the scariest moments informed by the lived experience of Aboriginal people.

The Moogai started life as a proof-of-concept short, and its transition to a fully fledged feature feels incomplete. At the same time, it’s refreshing to see a film like this getting made.