Antibirth

This is an artsy horror film that embraces raw American lower class, gritty characters, drugs and neon clothing. So this isn't for everyone and certainly caters to a particular audience. That being said I can recommend this movie if you are a big fan of either Chloe Sevigny or Natasha Lyone because their real life friendship is apparent in this film, especially a stoned dance scene in a trailer. They just had fun making this and embracing the dark, quirky elements, and that made it so enjoyable. If you liked the movies #Horror, Tales of Halloween, Honeybee, Bubba Ho-Tep, ABC's of Death, BeatleJuice, An American Werewolf in London or Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.... Then it's a pretty good chance you will get a kick out of Anti-Birth.

In a desolate community full of drug-addled Marines and rumors of kidnapping, a wild-eyed stoner named Lou (Natasha Lyonne) wakes up after a wild night of partying with symptoms of a strange illness and recurring visions as she struggles to get a grip on reality while stories of conspiracy spread.

The film seems to begin with a kernel of truth: that drug use can be terrifying. While I have no personal experience as far as that goes, we are all familiar with the idea of a "bad trip". One could say that what happens to Lou is the worst kind. Although not directly connected to her, we also see the dark edges of drug use, which can lead to addiction, or even to prostitution. Is that aspect "horror"? No. But it is certainly scary in its own way.

Leading the film are two great actresses: Natasha Lyonne (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK), assisted by Chloe Sevigny (AMERICAN HORROR STORY). Lyonne has mastered the trashy woman act (and unlike the caricature rednecks of Rob Zombie's world, this story is grounded in reality). Films with such protagonists do a dangerous balancing act. We feel obligated to have sympathy on Lou (she is our humble narrator), but in many ways we cannot help but feel she brought this on herself.

One review summarized the film as "really, really weird". Now, I happen to disagree. Sure, we have talk of aliens, and some impressive creature effects in third act. We have a bizarre pregnancy, and some hallucinations. But it still has a coherence that keeps it very real. This is not David Lynch's "Eraserhead". You aren't left with endless questions.

Writer-director Danny Perez (ODDSAC) has crafted a smart horror-drama, with a big pinch of science fiction thrown in. He has created not only a solid film, but another world. If he happens to return to this snowy wasteland, I suspect there are more stories for him to tell.

Of course, I freely admit I would watch just about anything starring both Natasha Lyonne and Chloë Sevigny . . . what could possibly go wrong?

OK, all joking aside (well, sort of), Natasha and Chloe are absolutely brilliant here, they nail their characters perfectly, and then some.

As for the film itself, the best description that comes to mind is bizarre, twisted, completely ridiculous . . . and very fun to watch.

This is definitely a low budget, B minus sci-fi horror genre' production, with a dash of evil ET conspiracy twists submerged in a veritable swamp of drug dazed existence. Even if the story, such as it is (or perhaps tries to be) is murky at best, the characters are perfect exaggerations of characters I've seen or met over the years.

If anything, this production consists of a very loosely connected jigsaw puzzle of plot pieces, which serves as a sort of ecosystem for the aforementioned exaggerated real life type characters to flourish in.

Well, maybe flourish isn't exactly the appropriate description here.

But however one may want to judge this production, it certainly can't be criticized for lack of uniqueness.

Chloë is particularly adept at playing various roles in unique productions ("Hit and Miss" immediately comes to mind), but this definitely rates as one of the more, well, experimental sorts of indie film productions she has appeared in.

This film is certainly not for everyone, or even most, but for those with an proclivity toward indie projects more than just a bit outside the box, this just could be your cup of tea.

I'll offer a somewhat tentative 6 stars for this one . . .

I'm going spoiler free on this review, so you'll have to forgive me for being vague. The only joy you'll get from this movie is watching it without knowing where it is going. If you know too much, there's nothing worth watching.

I think there is some merit in seeing this film. My biggest issues with it were the direction it took, which isn't my preferred genre. I really can't say more than that without spoiling it, and I'm sure you're going to rate my review as "not helpful" for saying that, but everyone I said that to at the Phoenix Film Festival (where I saw this film) immediately understood.

What that means for you, dear viewer, is you're going to have to take a gamble. Do you like non-mainstream horror? How open-minded are you? If you like formulaic horror, move along. The movie is bizarre in many ways.

My rating reflects that I was not at all happy with the direction it took (as a personal preference...you might think it was the best ending ever), but I'm actually glad I saw it. If nothing else, it's interesting. The soundtrack is also a nice bonus. Loved the music!

Some folks are partying, a girl named Lou is dragged somewhere by a guy. Next the girl meets with some girlfriends complaining about not feeling well. They joke that she's pregnant. Some sinister guys are collecting urine from females in a fridge. One of them has her lips chewed off or something.

Lou in the meantime starts feeling weirder and weirder and sicker and sicker and indeed starts developing a belly. But that doesn't keep her from getting high non-stop. She has some weird visions. All this takes place in some poor town with a Marine base. There's an awful lot of talk and taking drugs and ridiculous music and silly visions.

At some point Lou meets a woman who seems to have some idea what's going on. She tells her that someone has implanted her with something. She suspects the government is behind this. With her help Lou tracks down some of the bad guys and we more or less find out what they are up to.

It doesn't take long for Lou to be full term and to give birth and here the movie manages to surprise. Some other characters also make an appearance and things do get interesting.

Antibirth focuses on a bunch of ugly people doing ugly things and who listen to hideous music. It's not easy caring about any of them or what's going on, which isn't really much. This is one of those movies, where everything that is said matters. At this pace the movie would have been a solid 2/10. But then suddenly the ending is pretty surprising. The movie works toward something, you know or hope that something interesting will happen, but at the same time you quickly give up. But then suddenly the movie does deliver and it changes one's perspective of the entire film for the better. Clearly a lot more could have been done with this script and the budget should have allowed for a better movie.