From Finland, we are somehow used to films that are gloomy, tonal and even in colors gloomy, gray, dark, but this twisted horror fantasy is characterized by unexpected brilliance, whiteness, purity, sunshine. There is probably more sunshine here than the average Finnish town gets all year round, and this visual idyll is in stark contrast to everything that will happen in “Hatching” or “Pahanhautoja” in the original. Everything here from beginning to end seems rather absurd, surreal, and right at the beginning of the film premiered at the midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival we meet a seemingly idyllic family living in a seemingly idyllic suburb.
Dad (Jani Volonen) is obviously a well-to-do but simple-minded guy who manages to provide a comfortable life for his family. Mom (Sophia Heikkilä) acts from the beginning as one of those women who loves to show how great their life is. She also has a video blog in which she follows the life of her family and they are all great, wonderful, beautiful, and their 12-year-old daughter Tinja not only lives in the shadow of a mother obsessed with herself, but also in every way satisfy. The mother is very demanding and pushes her daughter to the gymnast beyond the limits, mostly for the reason that she can brag about her successes. The woman is so obsessed with herself that she does not even see that her daughter is lonely, depressed and unhappy.
The film actually begins with a bizarre incident in which a family lunch will be interrupted by a crow rushing into their living room. After Mom kills the crow, Tinja will find a bird’s egg in a nearby forest. The little girl will feel sorry for her and will take home that mysterious egg that she will hide and keep warm. But the egg will grow unexpectedly fast, and what will hatch from it will definitely not be an ordinary bird. It will be a bizarre mutant of a bird and a man, and it will be a creature and extremely protective of Tinja. From start to finish, “Hatching” proved to be a totally weird and monkey movie, and as time goes on, the story gets crazier and crazier.
It’s not one of those classic feature creature plot horrors, but “Hatching” is a multi-layered subversive parable that can also be viewed as a satire on completely twisted family relationships. At the same time, “Hatching” is a kind of high-concept horror about how hard it is sometimes to grow up, especially when you don’t have anyone around you who listens to you and whom you can trust, but everyone is obsessed exclusively with themselves. Obviously, Tinja wants to be accepted by her mother (who will definitely prove to be the biggest lunatic in this whole story) and wants to please her, but subconsciously she seems to feel that mom is not a person to expect. Therefore, Tinja also seems to be subconsciously divided into two people, and this bizarre creature that will hatch thanks to her, will actually be a kind of id to her ego. Rating 8/10.
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