Sundance Review: HATCHING Is One Unique and Jacked-Up Horror Thriller
Well, the horror film Hatching was a hell of a thing. This was one bat-shit crazy horror movie that was both amusing and horrific. The film is described as a "tremendously twisted coming of age body horror film," and the plot revolves around a young teen girl who discovers an egg in the woods and brings it home to care for it. The consequences of this decision are horrific.
In the film, “Tinja’s mother showcases their family’s existence on her popular blog, ‘Lovely Everyday Life’ as a brightly hued domestic idyll set amid manicured suburban perfection. Beneath the impeccable veneer, though, friendless tween gymnast Tinja is struggling, spending most of her time striving to please her image-obsessed mom and appease her shrilly obnoxious little brother. After finding a wounded bird in the woods, she brings its strange egg home, nestles it in her bed, and nurtures it until it hatches. The creature that emerges, christened Alli, becomes Tinja’s closest friend, surrogate child, and living nightmare."
Watching this story unfold is insanely unnerving and at times uncomfortable, but it’s not just the horror aspect of the film. Aside from the horrifying visuals, the story also builds on the perception of the "perfect family" with a far from a perfect family. The intense pressure of living up to perfect standards is sure to make a person crack, and this young girl cracks under that pressure as the egg she is nurturing cracks open.
The creature that comes out of that egg is completely terrifying, and over the course of the film, it morphs into something that is even more insane! It was already teased in the trailer that was released, so I guess it’s OK to reveal here, but the creature morphs into the teen girl's doppelgänger. It’s a crazy-ass and unusual journey, though, to get to that point.
The young girl and the monster befriend each other, and the monster feels the need to protect her from those who seem to be doing her harm. As you might imagine, blood is shed. While the intentions of the creature can be considered good, everything it does just causes bloody chaos.
Hatching is one of my favorite horror films to come out of Sundance, this year, so far. It’s just such a unique, unexpected, and ghastly story, and it builds up to a shocking and jacked-up ending that I couldn't help but enjoy. For those of you who are fans of horror, this is a film that you're going to want to watch!
Here's the description of the film that was provided by Sundance:
Director Hanna Bergholm’s pointedly satirical feature debut constantly surprises, upending expectations by continually morphing alongside the newly hatched Alli. Delivering audacious displays of vomitous havoc, Hatching is also a fascinating portrait of the nature of maternal instinct, as Tinja battles to come to terms with the genuine emotional bond with her grotesque and bloodthirsty newfound family while contending with the fraying connection to her own demanding mother.