“You don’t want that child. I’ll take good care of him.”
Among the twinkling lights, tinsel, and trimmings of the holiday season, many households feature a cherished piece of Christmas decor. The Nativity scene is a recreation of immaculate birth placed in the unusual setting of a rustic barn. Barnyard animals, shepherds, and kings surround a serene mother gazing down at her infant child. The Virgin Mary is not only one of the most beloved religious figures the world has ever known, she’s become a symbol of idyllic motherhood and sacrificial devotion. But not all birth stories grace the cover of a holiday card. In fact, the reality of labor and delivery is often much more violent. Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury offer a much darker version of the nativity in their 2007 film Inside. As two women fight for the life of an unborn child, we explore the cruel expectations thrust upon mothers and the lengths some will go to recreate Mary’s unattainable legacy.
As Sarah (Alysson Paradis) reaches the final days of her pregnancy, her thoughts are consumed with painful memories of her recently deceased husband. She insists on spending the holidays alone and retreats to her home on Christmas Eve with plans to induce labor early the next morning. But a knock at the door plunges her last hours of peace into a bloody nightmare. Not only does La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) know she’s alone, this mysterious woman will stop at nothing to cut the baby from Sarah’s womb.
In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s The Lady Killers Podcast, co-hosts Jenn Adams, Sammie Kuykendall, Rocco Thompson, and Mae Shults will dig through the guts and gore to slice open the belly of this disturbing film. Why do we find Sarah so compelling? Is there anyone more glamorous than Béatrice Dalle? Can we handle the film’s extreme violence and what does La Femme truly want? As the holidays near, the Lady Killers explore this dire Christmas classic and search for hope in the story’s grim conclusion.
Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.