Antibirth

Antibirth

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Danny Perez
Produced by
Screenplay by Danny Perez
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Rudolf Blahacek
Edited by Aden Bahadori
Production
company
  • Traverse Media
  • Hideaway Pictures
  • WeatherVane Productions
Distributed by IFC Midnight
Release dates
  • January 25, 2016 (2016-01-25) (Sundance)
  • September 2, 2016 (2016-09-02) (United States)
Running time
 94 minutes
Country
  • United States
  • Canada
Language English

Antibirth is a 2016 American-Canadian independent body horror film written and directed by Danny Perez, and starring Natasha Lyonne, Chloë Sevigny, Meg Tilly, Mark Webber, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos and Emmanuel Kabongo. The film follows a drug-addled woman in a remote Michigan town who becomes pregnant after taking a strange drug. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016. The film was released in the United States on September 2, 2016, by IFC Midnight.

Plot

In a small Michigan town, hard-partying stoner Lou (Lyonne) awakens one morning and finds herself experiencing bizarre symptoms. Her friend, Sadie (Sevigny) believes she is pregnant and not telling her about it, despite Lou's claims that she hasn't had sex with anyone in nearly a year. A mysterious stranger, Lorna (Tilly), however, believes Lou. As conspiracies and stories of bizarre kidnappings around town begin to spread, Lou's visions and grip on reality become more distorted.

Cast

Production

The movie started from a desire by Perez to do something more focused on narrative than his usual work.[1] In designing the feature, Perez sought to work with a female lead, telling Daily Dead "narratively and visually I'm more interested in that." He created a script to deliberately "subvert a lot of female archetypes", specifically subverting the idea of how pregnancy is usually depicted as "this image of women as glowing in gestational bliss and being so happy".[2] "No one really talks about the more gruesome aspects of pregnancy and what it does to the body."[2] In creating the narrative, Perez was also inspired by various conspiracy theory enthusiasts as well as "weird UFO YouTube videos".[1]

From the beginning, Perez wrote the film with Natasha Lyone in mind, whom he was personally friends with,[1] with her officially signing on in May 2014 along with Chloë Sevigny.[3]

Critical reception

Bloody Disgusting gave the film a positive review, calling it "good old body horror movie. It’s got the suggestion of pregnancy, so you’re dealing with the undertones of a woman’s mixed feelings about her own capacity to give life, but if you don’t want to go there it’s really just gross as hell."[4] The Guardian also gave the film a positive review, drawing comparisons to The Big Lebowski and David Cronenberg's The Brood.[5] The New York Times described the film as resembling a "meth fever dream."[6]

Consequence of Sound gave the film a negative review, saying, "There are at least six different movies in Antibirth, and none of them work in tandem."[7]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2016.[8][9] Shortly after, IFC Midnight acquired distribution rights to the film.[10] The film was released in a limited release and through video on demand on September 2, 2016.[11] It was also shown at the After Dark Film Festival in Toronto, Canada.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Furino, Giaco. "Director Danny Perez on Fever-Dream Feature Film 'Antibirth' [Interview]". The Creators Project. Vice. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 Wixson, Heather. "Sundance 2016 Interview: Writer/Director Danny Perez Discusses ANTIBIRTH". Dailydead. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (May 17, 2014). "Kaleidoscope boards Chloe Sevigny horror Antibirth". Screen Daily. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ Topel, Fred (January 27, 2016). "[Sundance Review] 'Antibirth' is Gross as Hell!". Bloody-Disgusting. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  5. ↑ Hoffman, Jordan (January 27, 2016). "Antibirth review - Natasha Lyonne makes a splash in whacked-out Dude-meets-Brood". The Guardian. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  6. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (January 26, 2016). "'Antibirth,' Natasha Lyonne and Chloë Sevigny's Sundance Reunion". The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ Roffman, Michael (January 27, 2016). "Sundance Film Review: Antibirth". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Antibirth". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  9. ↑ "SUNDANCE INSTITUTE COMPLETES FEATURE FILM LINEUP FOR 2016 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL". sundance.org. December 7, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  10. ↑ A. Lincoln, Ross (June 9, 2016). "IFC Midnight Delivers Rights To Horror Pic 'Antibirth'". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Antibirth". IFC Films. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  12. ↑ "2016 Toronto After Dark Film Festival Schedule Flyer". Retrieved October 20, 2016.

External links

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