Finnish director Hana Bergholm knew very early on that she wanted her horror film "Nightborn" to tell a story about the difficult emotions that arise when you become a parent and to break the taboos that still exist around motherhood.
"I knew I wanted to tell a story about the difficult emotions that arise when you are a parent, a mother or a father, and how to deal with your emotions and yourself," she said at the Berlinale, where the film - originally titled "Yön Lapsi" - is being screened in competition.
This Norse tale, steeped in mythological influences, follows Saga (Sadie Haarla) and her British husband John, played by "Harry Potter" star Rupert Grint, as they retreat to the solitude of the Finnish forests and excitedly begin a new chapter in their lives as parents, writes Reuters.
However, when the baby is born, their joy quickly fades, as her appearance and behavior arouse in Saga the suspicion that something terrible is wrong.
"It was very important to me that everything felt like it came from the real emotions of these characters," Bergholm said. Saga is the central character and the film tells the story from her perspective.
Then, as he says, it's up to the audience to decide how much of what's happening is real and how much isn't.
Grint said the film, which was made after he had just found out he was having a baby, particularly resonated with him. "(Being a parent) is such a terrifying experience," he said.
Bergholm also wanted to showcase the kind of physicality that is often left out of the conversation.
"I wanted to show the birth of people and the blood that goes with it," she said.
"And you know, those things from everyday life - we all have them - and a woman's body can 'break' in various ways during childbirth, and that's something we never talk about (...) And that's just human, it's natural."
When asked if she found inspiration in Roman Polanski's film "Rosemary's Baby," Bergholm replied: "When we were writing this with Ilya (Rautsi), we kind of joked that this film starts where 'Rosemary's Baby' ends."
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