The Lullaby (2018) by Darrell James Roodt

Director: Darrell James Roodt
Year: 2018
Country: South Africa
Alternate Titles: Siembamba
Genre: Supernatural

Plot:
Having jut given birth to her son, a new mother returns to her mother's house to help raise him, and as their clash of ideals on how to raise him starts to toy with her the idea that something supernatural is trying to hurt him and forces her into a battle with her sanity to stop it.

Review:

On the whole, this was a pretty cliched effort overall. The main factor against this one is the fact that so much of this one tends to feel like every other genre effort in this style. The vast majority of the film is incredibly familiar without too many variations, ranging from the sleepless nights up tending to the crying child and ignoring everything around her to deal with these fictitious moments to the inability to recognize the supernatural antics affecting her that could just as easily be just any normal everyday activity. This runs rampant throughout the first half of the film which causes this one to feel incredibly familiar and overly cliched due to the reappearance of all the same setups normally seen in such films.

Given that majority of these take place in accordance with the family drama that takes place here doesn't do this one any favors at all since there's little about these scenes that are enjoyable. Again trading on numerous aspects throughout here that are seen many times over, the concept of her behavior and antics directly contradicting her mothers' ideas of childrearing which are handled through rather familiar arguments from being forgetful about locking it out in a different room, holding it in specific positions or generally being considered incompetent on subjects that mothers should be well-versed in. These areas are nowhere near interesting as the idea of these scenes are just dull and their drama-like nature doesn't make for a horror-centric viewing for the most part here since the film takes forever to get going into it's horror-based reality that this one is a nearly-impossible entry to get into.

For what it's worth, there are some positives here. The main element to like here is the cast, which has some bright spots. Brandon Auret  as the duplicitous Dr. Timothy Reed is quite effective here, effectively switching between the seeming professional and the far more dangerous spirit he's revealed to be. Even though he's not physically intimidating or threatening, his profession and air of authority makes his actions all the more deadly once the twist comes. The lead Reine Swart as Chloe van Heerden gives a stellar performance being asked to carry all the weight of the film. Bouncing between lunacy and a far more reserved motherly tone, her various mood swings from the whole affair give this a decidedly intriguing main star that stays interesting and watchable throughout her breakdown. Being asked to vary so wildly in her tones and actions gives this a great feeling and really helps to sell what's going on here as she's a truly likable lead. The other lead, Thandi Puren who plays her mom Ruby van Heerden, gives another strong turn with the original turn being a nice, sweet mother before the turn at the end. It really makes a stellar twist and gives this one an extra bump overall.

Once it does go for some horror-based moments, this one has some decent ideas with the whole effort being about the deterioration of her psyche throughout the film. Taking the stellar backstory inspiration for the figure in her nightmares or the other forces acting on her psyche, this builds up into a rather intriguing and potentially fine storyline that really offers numerous scenes that showcase the breakdown of her psyche as physical acts. From her normal parenting duties that take place here bathing it, tending to it and all that really goes into helping prepare the baby for life, there's a great overbearing sense of dread building up her emotional state connecting the backstory of the ghostly figure to the freakout. This causes the final half to have some stellar energy and brutality which comes with some stellar sequences featuring a few decent jump-scenes with the best bloody scenes in the film. Otherwise, there's not a whole lot else to like here.

Overview: **1/2/5
While there's not a whole lot to really enjoy here, the fact that it remains somewhat watchable and intriguing once it gets going even if it takes a long time to get there. The cliches and over-familiarity of this one also knock this one down, so this one really only sticks around for those that enjoy this kind of effort without worrying too much about the flaws.