‘Don’t leave Adam alone’
Still/Born is a 2017 Canadian supernatural horror film directed by Brandon Christensen (producer of It Stains the Sands Red) from a screenplay co-written with Colin Minihan. The movie stars Christie Burke, Jesse Moss and Rebecca Olson.
Plot:
Mary, a new mother, lost one of her twins in childbirth. As she struggles with the trauma, she begins to suspect something sinister is after her surviving child – a supernatural entity that has chosen her child and will stop at nothing to take it from her…
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
Reviews:
“Like many recent horror hits (Mama, The Babadook, Under the Shadow), Still/Born is about motherhood and consequently revolves around a powerhouse performance from a lead actress. Here, Burke […] is outstanding as the fragile, yet determined heroine who is terrorised beyond the bounds of sanity but has to remember that she might be doing all this to herself.” Screen Daily
” …by the time we approach the middle, the film transforms and becomes less of a classical horror affair, and more of a franchise-hungry performance. It’s as if the director changed halfway through the movie, the style even changes, the music becomes less classical, replaced by ’90s low budget Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Grimm sound compositions.” Horror Talk
“Still/Born’s choppiness doesn’t nag overmuch because a brisk 84-minute runtime keeps rhythm rolling. Mattering more, in this case, are the ends, not the means. Even when the path isn’t pretty, the destination delivers dread. And what the movie has going for it in the traditional terror department is more intriguing than mulling what it misses in invention.” Culture Crypt
” …the more overriding parental fear of something happening to our children has appeared in many, many genre films over the years. However, director Brandon Christensen and his co-writer Colin Minihan (It Stains the Sands Red) have managed to overcome any familiarity by producing an intelligent and sympathetic postpartum tale that treats the subject with empathy and its audience with respect.” Nerdly
” …the first half of Still/Born offers such straightforward scares that, if upheld, would leave the audience too traumatized to belabor such qualms. It’s a bummer that this simple, effective premise is so quickly burdened with silly mythology and overwrought melodrama.” Birth. Movies. Death.
“Brandon Christensen’s film debut has a frosty elegance that explodes into a wild and nail-shredding finale. He takes his time to build the dread […] Still/Born is a vivid, scary experience that slowly builds like Rosemary’s Baby meets Paranormal Activity with the thriller intensity of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle to carry you over the line.” Britflicks
Cast and characters:
Christie Burke … Mary
Jesse Moss … Jack
Rebecca Olson … Rachel
Jenn Griffin … Jane
Michael Ironside … Doctor Neilson
Sheila McCarthy … Sheila
Sean Rogerson … Tim
Grace Christensen … Adam
Dianne Snape … Lamashtu
Brittany Allen … Lamashtu (voice)
Jayson Therrien … Richard
Gunnar Shanahan … Baby Charlie
Praneet Akilla … Camera Technician
Pat Chau … Birth Doctor
Sarah Troyer … Birth Nurse 1
Production companies:
Digital Interference
Umbrella Collective Films
Hadron Films
Filming locations:
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Trailer:
