Panic Fest Review: ‘Hatching’ is the Finnish Body-Horror Fairy Tale You Won’t Forget

Adolescence and motherhood are themes that are no strangers to the horror genre. With the Finnish body horror Hatching, director Hanna Bergholm aims at online culture obsession and the trauma to one’s own family a mother will inflict to make sure her followers envy the perfect family life she has carefully curated. Written by Ilja Rautsi, in the vein of Grimm’s Fairy tales, using the frustrations and confusion of puberty visually to show what horrors new emotions can stir up. Starring Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkilä (Dual),  Jani Volanen (Eden) and Reino Nordin.

Hatching follows pre-teen Tinja (Solalinna) living with her mother (Heikkilä), Father (Volanen), and younger brother in a pastel and floral nightmare carefully constructed to be the ideal backdrop to her mother’s daily blog. Always filming and speaking to an audience that could be thousands or dozens, it’s never known, but what is clear is that the perception of perfection looms over each member of the family. None more so than Tinja.

When a bird gets into the house, causing minor cosmetic damage to the living room, her mother’s emotionless killing of the small animal shows how ruthless she can be when something breaks her façade of perfection. Distraught, Tinja runs into the woods behind their house and discovers an egg, and she brings it home and hides it under her pillow.

With a critical gymnastic competition looming, the arrival of a new neighbor, and the realization that her mother’s “business trips” are an excuse for her to see her new boyfriend, Tinja is ready to burst. And so is her egg which has grown unreasonably large since coming home from the woods. 

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The creature that emerges is one of the more horrific, slimy, and incredibly articulate puppets I’ve ever seen on film. I honestly thought it was incredible CGI for a low-budget movie until I dug deeper. Gustav Hoegen oversaw the animatronics on Hatching, having previously managed the practical creature effects for Lucasfilm on several Star Wars features. The special effects make-up head, Connor O’Sullivan, worked on the Joker makeup for The Dark Knight. So, to say Bergholm had a top-notch team, would be an understatement. Affectionately called ‘Alli’ after a nightmarish Finnish children’s lullaby, the creature is incredible to witness onscreen. 

Despite being an avatar for Tinja’s envy, anger and the fact that her new hatchling commits some horrific acts of violence, she still has the motherly instincts to care for and protect Alli. As the creature develops, Tinja dresses, feeds (vomiting up seeds in a bulimia reference), and cares for the abomination that is the mirror image of herself. Where Tinja is prim and proper, Alli is vile, wet, and unkempt. Still, fearing the loss of control if she doesn’t keep up appearances, she lets Alli act out her darkest impulses. 

The pair share a bond much like Elliot and ET. With Tinja experiencing the violence enacted by Alli, she must sacrifice her own success and body to prevent further carnage by her shadow self. Once Alli fully transitions into her final form, mother and daughter will see how far they will go to keep up appearances. 

With commentary on the “beta” husband, who knows he’s being cheated on but doesn’t make a fuss so as not to upset the mother, we get more insight into the children’s behavior. The same man content to play guitar in a backroom rather than engage with his children is the same man who mistakes dog blood for his daughter’s period and decides to look the other way. Its satire played as dark humor. 

As a doppelgänger horror on the surface, Hatching is a twisted tale of a mother’s relationship with her pre-teen. The fight, make-up, and fight again cycle is Tinja and Alli’s relationship. Repetitive in its narrative, the film does feel long at times despite the 86-minute run time. The stakes come to a crescendo as the narrative develops, and the ending is something to discuss for sure. Still, despite everything, the creature design and performance from Solalinna make for a memorable viewing experience. 

Director Hanna Bergholm shared that she wanted Hatching to be a movie for those who aren’t fans of horror. However, the ghastly nature of the attacks and the gore levels for such a simple tale would make the more seasoned viewers gasp. It’s a movie with pitch dark humor and commentary on social media life that might turn off some viewers. Still, with astounding creature effects and incredible performances, it’s a movie that audiences will find and share. 3/5

We watched Hatching as part of Panic Film Fest 2022. Check out the trailer below and Hatching is now available to rent or own on VOD. Be sure to follow ScaryNerd for all things horror, sci-fi, fantasy and everything in between.

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