[Fantasia 2026] FILM REVIEW: Nightborn

Nightborn - Fantasia North American Premiere Review

Director: Hanna Bergholm

Starring: Seidi Haarla, Rupert Grint, Pamela Tola, Silvia Saloranta, Pirko Saisio

Written by: Hanna Bergholm, Ilja Rautsi

Produced by: Daniel Kuitunen, Devide Noëmie

Cinematography by: Pietari Peltola

Original Score by: Eicca Toppinen

Synopsis:

In Finnish forest, Saga and her husband Jon embark on a new chapter as parents. But Saga's joy is overshadowed by a chilling suspicion about their newborn, unbeknownst to Jon, causing a rift as she alone grapples with the disturbing truth.

Thoughts:

If you're on the fence about having a child then I implore you to watch this film first. Hanna Bergholm's sophomore feature film, a deeply disturbing folk horror about the woes of parenthood, will make you think twice about ever wanting to bring another life into this world...

Saga and Jon have just moved to the Finnish countryside, a familiar location for Saga, who grew up in this old house and spent much of her childhood in the wild woods. Their new home needs alot of work. Like LOADS of work. There's a tree growing in one of the bedrooms. It's thoroughly dilapidated. But they're in love and about to begin a new chapter of their lives so they won't let anything deter them from starting their own family. As planned Saga falls pregnant and gives birth to a boy, a big boy, a big boy with a hairy back. You see, that was the first red flag.

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Almost immediately Saga believes that something is awry. The boy isn't behaving like a normal child. He is sucking her breasts dry. He is drinking her blood. He is crying incessantly. He is growing quickly. He rarely sleeps. He isn't normal. Yet, after referrals, the Doctor reassures Saga and Jon that this behavior is in fact perfectly normal. Despite Jon's attempts to make her feel loved, Saga does not feel like herself. She knows what this child is but what will she do about it?

The post natal horror film is not something new. We've seen plenty of versions of this film before, with each one attempting to address the tribulation of becoming a new parent, usually from the Mother's perspective, in an allogorical way. This one didn't always hold my attention but that's not for the want of trying. Bergholm has crafted a visually beautiful film with both leads giving everything they have in their tank. Seidi Haarla is incredible as the new Mother, desperate to connect with her child but deep down knowing something sinister dwells within him. In fact she always refers to him as "it". Rupert Grint is solid as a loving husband who is willing to do what he can for his wife and kid, but just simply cannot fathom what he is witnessing. The location and colour palettes are very fairytale like, adding some authenticity to the folklore plot.

'Nightborn' is a very well made film with brilliant performances and some crazy scenes. There really is some weird and bizarre moments but there's dark humour as well. A scene at the dinner table where Jon is trying to feed the child like any normal parent would, made me chuckle. And a couple of silly scenes where the kid wanders off and shows incredible strength, yanking earrings out and biting fingers off.

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I think Bergholm is clearly having alot of fun but ultimately the story she is telling, outside of the monstrosities that are happening, are a very real version of the depression that recent mothers go through. Skepticism is rife amongst Saga's family circle and a fair amount of gaslighting too leading to plenty of questions about her capabilities as a mother and stability as a human being. Is this an entirely new concept for a horror film? No. There's been an abundant of films that have addressed this issue and I'm not sure this one stands out from the rest. But I thoroughly enjoyed the performances from Seidi and Rupert, whose weird combination of primal rage and comforting sincerity, make for an intriguing journey to watch.

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Gavin Logan

'Nightborn' received its North American Premiere at Fantasia '26 on July 22nd