Hatching

 

Hatching

Director - Hanna Bergholm

Writers - Hanna Bergholm(story by), Ilja Rautsi

2022 – Finland, Sweden

Stars –Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkilä, Jani Volanen

 

A Finnish family is blogging about their daily perfection when, one day, they are gate-crashed dramatically by a crow.

 

Following many contemporary horrors where the analogies, metaphors and symbolism are all on the surface, leading the narrative (‘The Babadook’ and ‘Men’ come to mind), this is the tale of a mother fermenting something monstrous due to the relentless ambitions she has for her daughter. This is very much a matriarchy, a passive-aggressive power with the father-figure worn down and cuckolded. The tantrums of the younger son notwithstanding, this isn’t really a household allowing insurrection, and it’s the twinges of disillusion and rebellion that causes the supernatural upheaval.

 

It is very ikky, well performed and rendered in glossy magazine clarity, a little on the nose and a little Grimm’s fairy tale. But if there isn’t so much subtext, the film follows through logically (and sadly) on its metaphor in a manner that reflects and elucidates on the characters. The practical effects are a bonus: the monster is unsettling and unforgettable*. There is something equally stylish and visceral offered by ‘Hatching’, and a creature-feature with arthouse execution and intention; Hanna Bergholm directs both with arthouse and horror sensibilities (like ‘Olga’ meets Guillermo Del Toro). This makes ‘Hatching’ a highly enjoyable and an often discomforting horror coming-of-age, even if only for Sophia Heikkilä’s smile.

 

·     * I had the bonus of not knowing this would be a creature feature, having just picked up the positive reputation without knowing so much. So when the egg cracked and it the creature appeared, I chuckled to myself with delight.