HATCHING, Finland, 2021. Starring Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkila, Jani Volanen, Reino Nordin, Oica Olila, Ida Maattenen. Directed by Hanna Bergholm. 89 minutes. Rated MA (Strong horror themes and violence)
In the opening moments of this domestic horror film from Finland, the director tries to lure us into believing that this family - ultra-glamorous mother, bespectacled and silent father, bespectacled and silent little son, charming gymnast daughter - is the ideal family. The mother has a blog, and she is continually filming her smiling family, posting her film clips, and talking to her seemingly adoring followers.
Then a little blackbird intrudes into the house, disrupting a photo-shoot, and smashing vases, glasses, even the chandelier. Everybody tries to catch the bird. The daughter, Tinje, (Siiri Solalinna in her debut) eventually throws a blanket over the bird to save it. But, her mother has different ideas – and breaks its neck.
This is Tinje’s story. We see her at gym training, urged on by her photographing mother (and when we see her leg scar we realise that she is compensating). Tinje is good but certainly needs more work. However, more complications arise, guiding us into this story.
The film title is soon explained as Tinje discovers the little blackbird is not dead after all. She puts it out of its misery only to discover its egg. She secretes the egg into the house, warming it in her bedroom, watching its tremendous growth until a monstrous caricature of a bird emerges. Tinje is somewhat bewildered but fosters the bird until it kills the neighbour’s dog.
Tinje is even more bewildered by her mother, carrying on an affair with the workman who comes to fix the chandelier. The mother attempts to buy her silence with sweet words, gifts, and favouritism, grooming her daughter to accept the relationship. She even takes her to her lover’s house, where Tinje discovers that the workman is the widowed father of a little baby that her mother dotes on.
Meanwhile, Tinje names the mysterious bird Alii, after a song she and her mother sing. The bird begins to transform into Tinje’s alter ego with all kinds of drastic repercussions.
This is a successful horror film for those who prefer moderate horror, more suggested than gory and graphic (although, of course, there are some moments).
The Hatching runs under an hour and a half, with much of the action in sunlight. The film features a fine performance from young up-and-comer Siiri Solalinna. With an increasingly loathsome glamorous mother, a strangely mysterious egg, and of course, an ambiguous ending, this horror flick leads us to make of it what we will.
Rialto
Released May 26th