NIGHTBORN

(director/writer: Hanna Bergholm; screenwriter: Lija Rautaniemi, story by Bergholm; cinematographer: Pictari Peltola; editor: Jussi Rautan; music: Eicca Toppinen; cast: Seidi Haarla (Saga), Rupert Grint (Jon), Pamela Tola (Taru), Pirkko Saisio (Saga’s mom), Rebecca Lacey (Jon’s mother), John Thompson (Jon’s fatherS); Runtime: 90; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: .Daniel Kuitunen, Noëmie Devide; Goqdfellas; 2026-Finland-Lithuania-France-U.K-in Finnish, English)

“Outrageous pregnancy horror pic.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
 
Finnish director Hanna Bergholm (“Hatching”) helms and co-writes with Lija Rautaniemi this outrageous pregnancy horror pic (a wannabe Rosemary’s Baby!). It’s based on a story by Bergholm.

The young married city couple, Saga (Seidi Haarla) and her English husband Jon (Rupert Grint), inherit her granny’s run-down old house in the forest of rural Finland. She gives birth to her first child, a blood-sucking on her breasts, hairy, monster-like baby boy, in a rough childbirth. The bloody birthing scene is the film’s highlight. Doubt sets in if the baby is a demon, as hubby tries to reassure her he’s not, and demands she be more nourishing to him.

The child is ironically named Christian to please Jon’s pastor father (John Thompson). While Saga’s mom (Pirko Saisio) is viewed as a plain woman, with common-sense.

The black comedy offers some amusing moments, but the film disappoints as its stomach-churning moments don’t make the story necessarily a smart film as much as a creepy one. 

It played at the Berlin Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 7/31/2026  GRADE: B-
dennisschwartzreviews.com