Birth/Rebirth

It's not often that the horror genre throws up an original idea these days, but this film is a rare example demonstrating that it is still possible. It is a twisted and disturbing tale that avoids falling into established genre cliches. Not an easy film to watch, especially for the squeamish, with lots of blood and body parts on display. But for those with strong constitutions, the story is gradually revealed, drawing the viewer ever more deeply into the twisted plot and the increasingly mad behaviours of the two lead characters. The acting is very good, somehow managing to engage the viewer whilst at the same time revealing the repellent nature of their actions.

Mortician Rose discovers how to bring the dead back. Unfortunately, it's a work in progress; her latest subject is Lila, a young girl who died of meningitis. Her mum, Celie, a nurse, gets in on the project to keep her daughter alive.

I saw the name Shudder in the opening credits, and I imagined a naff, low-budget affair. What followed really surprised me. Talk about Frankenstein's daughter: a tried-and- tested story brought up to date and very effectively rewired.

Not horror in my eyes, but more a suspense thriller with a couple of shocks thrown in. There are a few nasty scenes, particularly towards the end; we learn exactly the lengths a mum will go to for her child. It would perhaps have benefited from one or two touches of humor; they could have enhanced the film a little.

I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Marin Ireland. Talk about intense! But the whole cast performed very well. It's not brilliant, but it's definitely worth watching.

7/10.

It was pretty good.

It's a solid psychological horror movie with an interesting concept, strong direction and good performances from Marin Ireland and Judy Reyes. Throughout, the camerawork and production design is pretty good as it helps add the creepy atmospheric tones. The direction and writing from Laura Moss was pretty good as Moss was able to provide strong direction and interesting writing concepts into the narrative that were interesting and engaging to observe. Alongside some pretty solid uses of some horror gore and blood moments.

As mentioned, the performances are pretty good and even the child actor had some pretty good moments as well. The narrative definitely is influenced by Frankenstein or something from David Cronenberg as the narrative, while at times could improve, does explore some fun territories. The dialogue is pretty good as well and the characters were interesting to observe. Some of the pacing could have been improved and the characters were interesting although I wish there was a little more to the characters.

Overall, it's a good Midnight movie. There were some pretty good blood and gory looking moments.

Overrated as hell, by no means this is a 77/100 movie (Current Metascore rating). Furthermore, this is mislabelled. It's not horror neither thriller. This is a sci fi drama. Many people who are gonna watch it in order to get scared or enjoy themselves, will be disappointed. This is not an enjoyable movie neither mindless fun. Plot is really heavy.

However, this has nothing to do with the movie. It's not director's fault it's mislabelled or overrated.

Actors are very good. Always a pleasure watching "Carla" from SCRUBS, she is definitely skilled enough for more dramatic roles. Marin Ireland nailed it, too.

Plot was really heavy though. I didn't expect something like this. To be honest, if i knew this was a sci fi psychological drama, i wouldn't watch it, at least these days. So, if you are in the mood for a sci fi drama with very good acting performances, a drama about motherhood above all, you will probably like it more than me. I didn't enjoy it, therefore I cannot recommend it. Remember, this has nothing to do with horror.

In any case, it's not boring and the ending is rushed.

Phew, that was... emotionally exhausting. Technically this seemed much more like a dark, atmospheric drama... however I FEEL like I just watched a horror, so that's a new and interesting experience that I appreciated.

There was so much to be appreciated about this movie. The story was intriguing and engaging. It took a subject matter that was familiar, yet out of the grasp of our current reality and made it feel feasible and realistic. It was done with a finesse and tact that was eerie, unsettling, yet relatable.

A large portion of the success here is due to the performances by our two leads. The mother did a great job giving a gut wrenching performance, and the doctor in particular served us a character that was so unrelatable yet so round, consistent and realistic. They both did a pretty stellar job.

The pacing got just slightly off mainly towards the middle and dragged a bit, but nothing that was unredeemable. I was pretty glued to the screen, taking in the beautiful picture quality, a bit of gnarly gore, an intriguing story and some truly solid acting. I found myself wanting more once it was finished, but in a good way. Would recommend.