Spoilers are alive, they were just taking a nap.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein novel has inspired countless tales of horror and tragedy. However, this one in particular is a welcomed subversion. The perceived status of sanctity often conferred to motherhood, birth and death are all subverted here. The motives will be explained, the morals will be blurry and the ethics are just a bad memory. Before we proceed, please make sure you fill that donor card.

Birth/Rebirth (2023) is directed by Laura Moss who co-wrote it with Brendan O’Brien. Dr. Rose Casper (Marin Ireland) is a brilliant pathologist with an anti-social and cold demeanor that prefers to keep people at a distance. Celia (Judy Reyes) is an overworked but caring maternity nurse and a single parent to her six-year old daughter Lila (AJ Lister). After a tragic event, that results in her daughter’s death, Celia will end up following Rose to her apartment, only to find the pathologist has been working on a secret experiment on her own.

Most of the stories of re-animation focus on the horror of the re-animated. This one deals with the morals and the sneaky logistics of the actual act. Rose and Celia couldn’t be more different. Rose is completely absorbed by the science of her work, which is all in her life. Celia is absorbed by the humanity of her life, which makes her such a good nurse. Yet now both of their motives have aligned and they’ll become allies in the strangest of endeavours.

What results is both horror and drama. Rose is a complete sociopath, she is a stranger to social cues and undeterred by moral or ethical barriers. Celia is all heart, ready to go the extra mile to help and heal. Marin Ireland’s performance of Dr. Rose Casper as an amoral but extremely intelligent scientist is excellent, with an uncanny accidental comedic timing. Judy Reyes shines as the single mother and relentless nurse Celia. Their performances are worth the entry ticket alone. Their combined chemistry is golden, with even some touches of dark humour sprinkled in.

Extremely recommended for horror connoisseurs. There are no particular jumpscares in this one, but there is plenty of moral dilemmas that come to light. There is a lot of gore, blood and guts so avoid if you’re squeamish. Very much worth the watch for an appreciative audience.

That will do for now.