Dark, depressing, very disturbing film about a young woman, Madeline(Jordan Ladd)whose baby dies before she's able to carry her to full term, after a car crash which took the life of her husband, Michael(Stephen Park). Insisting on delivering the baby anyway, the infant somehow revives and has an insatiable thirst for human blood, evident by how Grace(the baby's name)suckles the deep crimson from her mommy's breast. Michael's domineering mother, Vivian(Gabrielle Rose, in a superb performance), unable to fully recover from the loss of her son, will seek to take Grace from Madeline, so she can relive the "mother experience"(we even see her testing out an old breast pump used on Michael when he was a baby). Patricia Lang(Samantha Ferris)is Madeline's "midwife", an alternative to the hospital doctor(which ruffles Vivian's feathers), and we can see that the two once had a lesbian relationship in college together. Patricia steal carries a torch for Madeline, but the feelings don't seem to be mutual. Shelly(Kate Herriot)is Patricia's associate and lover, clearly jealous of her affection for Madeline(Shelly even hides the fact that Madeline has called a number of times about emergencies concerning Grace!). Madeline slowly deteriorates both physically and psychologically as Grace both bleeds her into anemia and demands more "food", with Vivian concocting a plan to snatch the baby away with help from her old pediatrician, Dr. Richard Sohn(Malcolm Stewart). When Sohn(and later Vivian) attempts to take Grace away, believing her to be sick, matters worsen..
Director Paul Solet shoots most of the action up close, especially on the faces of his cast. The subject matter, regarding a baby's vampiric thirst, is certainly shocking, and the final image, I figure, will cause many a viewer to agonize..it's really a cringe-inducing climax which shows just how much a mother loves her child. I think that's the film's theme, the lengths for which a mother will go for her daughter, not only suffering herself, but what she's willing to do to keep Grace satisfied, and fed. It can get really bloody. Blood splashes on the floor when Madeline's water breaks. While giving birth, a mass of blood erupts from Madeline's vagina. Blood is a constant in this movie, the loss during the birthing cycle(or perhaps something that happened during the pregnancy), I guess, contributes to why Grace needs it for food. The blood illness Grace suffers is ambiguously presented in the film, and we can only conjecture what truly caused it. Ladd looks mostly fatigued and weakened in the movie, the toll of the pregnancy, the loss of her husband, Grace's need for blood, all attributing to her character's state by the end of the film. We never actually see Madeline happy, only as Grace suckles from her breast for the first time after birth does she show any form of joy, and it is a tired happiness that will soon subside. But, there's no denying Madeline's motherly love for Grace, and we see, time and again, how she tries to appease the baby. The most emotionally wrenching scene involves Madeline holding her dead baby after birth, not accepting Grace's demise, an unyielding belief that she will live.
Director Paul Solet shoots most of the action up close, especially on the faces of his cast. The subject matter, regarding a baby's vampiric thirst, is certainly shocking, and the final image, I figure, will cause many a viewer to agonize..it's really a cringe-inducing climax which shows just how much a mother loves her child. I think that's the film's theme, the lengths for which a mother will go for her daughter, not only suffering herself, but what she's willing to do to keep Grace satisfied, and fed. It can get really bloody. Blood splashes on the floor when Madeline's water breaks. While giving birth, a mass of blood erupts from Madeline's vagina. Blood is a constant in this movie, the loss during the birthing cycle(or perhaps something that happened during the pregnancy), I guess, contributes to why Grace needs it for food. The blood illness Grace suffers is ambiguously presented in the film, and we can only conjecture what truly caused it. Ladd looks mostly fatigued and weakened in the movie, the toll of the pregnancy, the loss of her husband, Grace's need for blood, all attributing to her character's state by the end of the film. We never actually see Madeline happy, only as Grace suckles from her breast for the first time after birth does she show any form of joy, and it is a tired happiness that will soon subside. But, there's no denying Madeline's motherly love for Grace, and we see, time and again, how she tries to appease the baby. The most emotionally wrenching scene involves Madeline holding her dead baby after birth, not accepting Grace's demise, an unyielding belief that she will live.