A morgue technician successfully reanimates the body of a little girl, but to keep her breathing, she will need to harvest biological materials from pregnant women. When the girl’s mother, a nurse, discovers her baby alive, they enter into a deal that forces them both down a dark path of no return.
Chuck says:
Uncommonly smart, Laura Moss’s “Birth/Rebirth” puts a modern spin on the “Frankenstein” story, with a dose of “The Monkey’s Paw,” to unexpectedly powerful results. Built on a solid foundation of real science, this tautly told tale takes one unexpected turn after another yet it’s the performances from Marin Ireland and Judy Reyes that provide the emotional foundation that makes it resonate. And while this is a more cerebral horror film, it still contains enough blood and gore to satisfy genre fans, though its source is not through traditional means.
Moss lets the viewer know from the start this is not for the squeamish as the viewer is immediately treated the sight of a full autopsy. Meticulously slicing up a cadaver with an icy glare that matches her demeanor is Rose Casper (Marin Ireland). She’s well-suited for the isolated, cold basement where this procedure takes place as she is unfeeling and demanding. Her life is based on facts and procedures, routines, and rituals, not allowing her or anyone else’s emotions to interfere with her work or life.
Regarded wearily by her co-workers, none of them know of her brilliance or the work taking place in her apartment. Bent on developing a procedure to reanimate the dead, she has absconded with supplies and other unmentionables from the hospital where she works. She’s had success with her experiments as she has a pig that’s still alive after having been brought back from the dead four months ago. Now, Casper is looking for an opportunity to take her work to the next step.
It literally falls in her lap when the body of a young girl named Lila (A.J. Lister) ends up in her morgue. Having contracted bacterial meningitis, her death was sudden and has rocked the world of her mother Celie (Judy Reyes), a nurse who works in the same hospital Casper does. And when the girl’s body disappears, her mother’s tenacious search for it takes her to her co-worker’s home, where she discovers her daughter in a state somewhere between life and death.
While Celie is initially repulsed by Casper’s plans for Lila, despite her better judgment she lets her proceed, clinging to the hope that perhaps her little girl can be made to be as she was before.
Of course, this proves to be a mistake though it is not immediately evident. As with any experiment, trail and error is at play, while setbacks occur that require radical reactions to combat. What emerges is a test of the two women’s morality, each ultimately finding out just how far they will go to hold on to Lila. Turns out, pretty far as the story takes some unexpected turns, forcing each to employ flimsy justifications for their actions, which go from understandable to heinous before all is said and done.
What elevates “Birth” above exploitation fare is the intelligence of its script. Adhering to hard science throughout, the movie touches on the controversial issues of fetal tissue use and stem cell research, while the harvesting of spinal fluid and bone marrow through unconventional means speak to the sort of rash rationalizations that are sometimes used with disastrous results.
While cautionary tales regarding scientific procedures are nothing new, “Birth/Rebirth” goes the extra mile by tying it to an effective story of parental terror and horrific codependence. And while its final scene may initially seem underwhelming, upon reflection what it portends is perhaps the most terrifying thing about the film.
3/4 Stars
