20 Incredible Modern Horror Movies That Came Out Of NOWHERE
2. Birth/Rebirth
The bond between a mother and her child is among the most sacred human connections imaginable, and it’s certainly ripe territory to explore through the lens of body/psychological horror.
Case in point: Lee Moss and Brendan J. O’Brien’s boldly troubling and thought-provoking Birth/Rebirth. Inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the film examines the moral, emotional, and scientific justifications and outcomes of bringing a deceased child back to life.
In particular, the five-year-old daughter of maternity nurse Celie Morales – Lila – dies unexpectedly from bacterial meningitis. Celie’s situation gets markedly worse when, after going to identify the body, she learns that Lila was stolen and reanimated by withdrawn pathologist Dr. Rose Casper to help with Casper’s at-home research into reproduction and resurrection.
Following their initial confrontation, Morales actually agrees to help Casper with her testing, and from there, Birth/Rebirth becomes increasingly provocative and affective as it forces both women – and viewers – to contemplate the ethics of their partnership and the legitimacy of their goals.
There’s much more to the movie than that, and Moss and O’Brien’s script – plus Moss’ direction – never shy away from the graphic details or questionable principles behind what Morales and Casper are doing.
As such, Birth/Rebirth is a profound investigation into how far a mother will go to see her child again and how far a researcher will go in the pursuit of scientific progress.