With the shift in the tone of horror films over the past few years, elevated horror has become the go-to for the genre. With high horror comes metaphors or themes wrapped under the surface-level plots of these films, and as a massive fan of the genre, the movie within the sub-genre has been welcomed. Films like Get Out, US, Hereditary, It Follows, and The Babadook have cemented themselves as both haunting and groundbreaking for the genre, and Hanna Bergholm’s Hatching joins the club as one of the most frightening and imaginative horror films of the year.
Written by Ilja Rautsi, Hatching follows a young gymnast named Tinja and her family as they deal with the stresses of everyday life, including infidelity, anxiety, and Tinja’s struggle to please her overbearing and dictating mother. After a downright terrifying encounter with a group of birds, Tinja finds an egg that begins to grow in size and ultimately hatch, changing Tinja and her family’s lives forever.
Rautsi’s screenplay effectively touches on a child coming of age and cracking through their parents’ shells while also looking at individuality and someone’s dark impulses and motivations. Using Tinja’s connection with Ali (her bird), the two form a bond that can be viewed as Tinja’s dark passenger and evokes her darkest thoughts. Rautsi’s screenplay, along with Bergholm’s impeccable direction throughout, is a love letter to the genre and homages the unique mind of Academy Award nominee Yorgos Lanthimos.
With a screenplay this effective, Siiri Solalinna steps up to the plate with dual performances that go toe to toe with the brilliance of Rautsi’s words. Solalinna evokes the vulnerability, lack of self-confidence, and anxieties of Tinja. She captures the menacing and horrific Ali, whose jealousy towards others turns into an unhinged and grotesque finale that’s not for the faint of heart. It’s a frightening take that will stick with cinephiles after the credits roll.
When it comes to the bird itself, nothing makes me happier than using practical effects in a horror film. Gustav Hoegen, who has previously worked on Star Wars, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, creates a creature that will give many nightmares. I have no shame in admitting that birds had always frightened me since a summer day on vacation in Cuba many moons ago when I was chased by a turkey (yep, that happened). However, Hoegen’s creature is one of the most effective animatronics in a horror film in quite a while.
Hatching features a simplistic but creepily sounding lullaby that purposefully blends beautifully with Stein Berge Svendsen’s score. Both capture the grim nature of the transpiring change in Tinja’s life and aid in a final shot with parents running to hug their younglings.
Ultimately, Hatching shines a light on Hanna Bergholm as a director to look for and the continued greatness of horror in the genre. A film that uniquely tackles adolescence while also giving horror fans a valuable horror gem that will leave cinephiles cackling for quite some time.
