Director: Lori Evans Taylor
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Trying to get their house renovated, a couple expecting their new child find themselves forced to keep her on bed rest after an accident gives them a pre-natal scare, yet the longer she remains comes to believe the house is haunted and tries to protect her baby from the supernatural threat.
Review:
Overall, this one turned out to be quite decent and rather enjoyable. Among the more likable qualities on display here is the central setup and motivation for the titular condition which sets everything in motion. As they’re shown in the middle of a house renovation and about to give birth, this provides a nice light to shine on them which is then turned to the central setup as she’s forced to stay in bed against her will in order to keep the baby alive and healthy. While this is exacerbated by the knowledge that she’s still not over the trauma of losing her previous baby or the fidgety nature of not wanting to spend as much time away from doing what she wants allows this to build up the idea rather credibly that what she’s experiencing all comes from the frazzled state of mind instead of the ghosts living in the house.
That comes into play exceptionally well with the film offering up a strong string of encounters to offer up a highly intriguing atmosphere here. The appearance of the child outside leads to numerous instances of her believing that it’s coming to set up a potential scare with the unsure nature of what’s going on driving her even more unstable than she already is due to her mental state through everything. As the encounters grow in intensity, there’s a fantastic reveal of the ghosts’ intentions and setting up a potentially intriguing final half with the battle about whether the ghost she’s seeing is the real thing which finally leads to the great finale as that brings about far more obvious supernatural thrills with plenty of suspenseful sequences and a genuinely heartwarming touch to give this one quite a lot to like.
There are a few minor issues here which are just enough to drag it down. The main drawback to this one is the usual stereotype of the woman who knows everything but yet no one wants to listen until it’s too late which is such an overdone trope that it doesn’t have much weight or impact anymore. Rather than try anything with this worn-out and overdone factor, it just runs through the usual cliches of the style featuring everyone calling her crazy, every scene getting written off as just her overactive imagination, and just carries a rather underwhelming feel that there’s not much here to get past that touch. As well, the other slight issue here is the rather overdone finale that goes way too overboard on the melodrama that gives everything a played-out feeling that doesn’t need to be there which are what keeps this down.
Overview: ****/5
A wholly effective and enjoyable genre effort, this one has quite a lot to like which offers enough to make its few flaws largely ineffective for the film to be as good as it is. Give this a look if you’re a fan of this type of genre fare, are curious about it, or are appreciative of this approach while those that aren’t into this approach should heed caution.
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