After dissecting the complex structures of a seemingly “perfect” family in the 2022 film Hatching, director Hanna Bergholm examines the difficult dynamics between parents and their new child in the new movie Nightborn.
Seeming at first like an idyllic woodland fairy tale in which the madly-in-love Saga (Seidi Haarla) and Jon (Rupert Grint) move into their charming inherited house (which gives a whole new meaning to the term “fixer-upper”) deep within a Finnish forest soon becomes a nightmare when their newborn baby comes home with an insatiable thirst for blood and an unsettling connection to the ominous trees and nefarious nature that soon takes root into their lives and chokes them in an ever-tightening grip from the outside world.
Boldly exploring vital themes of postpartum depression, familial dysfunction, and the uncertainties of parenthood, Nightborn is absolutely essential viewing and continues to cement Hanna Bergholm’s status as a truly fearless and visionary filmmaker.
With Nightborn now streaming on Shudder, Daily Dead had the great pleasure of talking with Hanna (who also co-wrote the film with Ilja Rautsi) as well as stars Seidi Haarla and Rupert Grint about the making of their new movie, including drawing from real-life experiences, incorporating intriguing troll folklore into the story, and finding consolation in the film’s authentic approach to parenthood.
Synopsis: With dreams of starting a perfect family, Saga (Seidi Haarla, Compartment No. 6) and her British husband Jon (Rupert Grint, Knock at the Cabin) move to the isolated house where she spent much of her childhood, deep in the Finnish forest. But as soon as their baby is born, despite the reassurance of all around her, Saga knows there’s something terribly wrong with her son. As their marriage starts to crack, Jon struggles to support his wife, but only Saga suspects the terrible truth about her newborn.
From the director of Hatching, NIGHTBORN is a visceral, gripping and terrifying dark fable about motherhood and unconditional maternal love.
Director: Hanna Bergholm
Screenwriters: Ilja Rautsi and Hanna Bergholm
Cast: Seidi Haarla, Rupert Grint, Pamela Tola, Pirkko Saisio, Rebecca Lacey, John Thomson, Silvia Saloranta
Producer: Daniel Kuitunen
Executive Producers: Brahim Chioua, Nick Shumaker, David Levine, Scott Shooman, Emily Gotto
Cinematographer: Pietari Peltola
Editor: Jussi Rautaniemi
Language: English, Finnish
Runtime: 92 mins
