Direction: Hanna Bergholm
Country: Finland
Neither a masterpiece nor a revolution, this Finnish body horror exercise is a darkly toned, sarcastically humorous modern-day fairy tale that blends dysfunctional family dynamics, gruesome circumstances, and arthouse superficiality. Hatching is the feature debut of Hanna Bergholm, who, working from a clever script by Ilja Rautsi, shows admirable skills as she creates an atmosphere both padded and disturbing. There’s a poisonous sophistication here that is not necessarily unpleasant to watch, making it satisfying on the terms established for each interrelated topics. It’s burning like love, chilling like death.
The story follows a 12-year-old gymnast (Siiri Solalinna), who, after a harrowing encounter with a bird in the woods, brings its egg into her bedroom to hatch. The latter grows to unexpected proportions and a strange, ever-changing creature comes out of it. Its abnormal physiognomy is left unexplained, but, by turning into its rescuer's doppelgänger, revealed to have a metaphorical connection with the fragile girl, who is inflicted tormenting psychological pressure by her strong-willed kitsch-blogger mother (Sophia Heikkilä).
At specific spots, the film loses some balance without ever really affecting the terrorizing heart of the story This is thanks to Heikkilä’ gradually more unhinged performance, as well as to the director’s emphasis on sarcasm and atmosphere. Great work by the animatronic Gustav Hoegen, whose portfolio includes Ex Machina (2014), Prometheus (2012), and Rogue One: a Star War Story (2016).
