Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Hanna Bergholm, Rialto Distribution.
Finnish film director Hanna Bergholm describes her debut feature as “a dark fable for grown-ups” and “a horror drama” with a dash of body horror.
Having always been “fascinated in telling stories about our fears” is probably why Hanna has always been afraid of horror films, “but maybe that’s exactly why I am so interested in telling these kind of stories.” She wanted to make Hatching “especially for audiences who are traditionally afraid to watch horror films, but want to see powerful stories about female emotions.”
That’s a reasonable explanation as this Nordic thriller feels more like a caliginous fable rather than a typical horror film. Even the memo is explicitly assembled around the hardships faced by girls and the correlation with conjectures encountered by women.
Nevertheless, Bergholm’s synopsis under-represents the film’s disturbing aspect.
Hatching (Pahanhautoja), which originally premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is written by Ilja Rautsi. It centres upon Tinja (Siiri Solalinna), a 12-year-old gymnast desperate to please her mother (Sophia Heikkilä), a woman obsessed with presenting the image of a perfect family to the world through her popular blog.
Tinja tries to realise her demanding mother’s dream by achieving success.
When her home life grows in its dysfunction — her mother is having an affair with the handyman, Tero (Reino Nordin); her father (Jani Volanen) is oblivious to everything; and her brother Matias (Oiva Ollila) is cantankerous — Tinja’s attention turns to a strange bird egg she finds in the forest behind her home.
The scene is set for the tone in Rautsi’s sharp, bold script. Tinja hides the egg in her room and secretly incubates it under her blanket until something hatches from the egg that upsets them all. The care she gives the bird is almost akin to her wishing someone might care for her.
Once the egg hatches, she names the sinister creature — courtesy of animatronic designer Gustav Hoegen (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Ex Machina) — and takes it upon herself to care for it.
- Hatching is in cinemas on 25 May
