Speaking as a person who has never given birth, it seems like a terrifying process (and yes I am aware that about 140 million babies are born around the world each year)—I’m talking feelings, not statistics). Not just the birth itself, which involves pushing another human being out of your body and hoping that you both survive the process, but the fact that when it comes to kids, you never know what you’re going to get. Given that context, it’s a wonder childbirth hasn’t been featured more often in horror movies.*
Enter Nightborn, the second feature film from Finnish director Hanna Bergholm (her first film, the body horror Hatching, includes a creature hatched from an egg). Nightborn is based in part on Finnish folklore about changelings and deep dark woods and combines folk beliefs with some of the bloody realities of childbirth and parental anxiety to make a truly frightening and effective horror film.
Nice young couple Jon (Rupert Grint) and Saga (Seidi Haarla) have just moved into their new home. They’re madly in love but come from quite different backgrounds—Jon is a Londoner while Saga is Finnish and grew up in this very home—and their differences predictably become more significant as the film progresses. In the meantime, they focus their energies on fixing up the home, which has fallen into ruin, and exploring the surrounding forest. Their choice to live here was based in part on their desire to raise their children close to nature, as Saga herself was brought up.
The birth of little Kuura (Finnish for hoarfrost) is introduced with an audacious and darkly hilarious match cut. Things go downhill from there—the baby is covered with dark shaggy hair and prefers suckling blood to breast milk. Saga thinks he’s a demon while Jon thinks he’s just an unusual child that needs a bit of extra loving care, and while you might initially be on Team Jon, as time passes he seems more and more naïve and unable to process the reality before him.
It doesn’t help matters that Jon is only observing what Saga is living, nor that he lacks an understanding of the beliefs through which she interprets her experiences. The increasing divergence in their viewpoints highlights another frightening reality of marriage, that applies whether or not you have kids—try as you may to understand someone else’s experiences and worldview, ultimately you are two different people and there will always be a gap in understanding between you. The appearance of several less-than-helpful relatives, including Saga’s sister Taru (Pamela Tola), whose experience of motherhood is quite different from Saga’s, and Saga’s mother (Pirkko Saisio) and Jon’s parents (Rebecca Lacey and John Thomson), underlines the fact that empathy is hard work and not everyone is up for it.
Sound plays a key role in creating the world of Nightborn, both the score by Eicca Toppinen and the sounds created by a whole team of artists including sound designer Micke Nyström and sound editors Olli Pärnänen and Kirsi Korhonen. Kuura’s animalistic cries in particular will chill your blood and rub your nerves raw. The film’s imagery is also unflinching, and this is certainly not a movie for those frightened by the sight of blood. It’s a horror film for adults and, like the best horror films, delivers on the horror effects while conveying a deeper meaning. | Sarah Boslaugh
*Although there have definitely been some good ones, including Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022), and The First Omen (2024).
Nightborn is available for streaming on Shudder.
