Reviews
‘birth/rebirth’ Sundance Review – Two Outstanding Lead Performances Elevate “Frankenstein” Update
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (or, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus for purists) has been retold countless times in the 100+ years since its original publication, with many creators sticking to the tried and true formula and a select few opting instead to give the story a new spin. That’s just what screenwriters Laura Moss and Brendan J. O’Brien aim to do in birth/rebirth, a look at the lives of two women in the medical field who come together to defy death after one of them endures an unspeakable tragedy.
After the sudden death of her 6-year-old daughter Lila (A.J. Lister), maternity nurse Celie (Judy Reyes, Smile) is overcome with grief until she crosses paths with pathologist Rose (Marin Ireland), a cold, calculated woman who is far more interested in the corpses she examines than the living people in her life. After discovering a secret Rose keeps in her apartment, the two women join forces in an attempt to bring Celie’s daughter back to life.
birth/rebirth offers a motherly twist on the Frankenstein tale, though Moss and O’Brien are much more interested in the mad scientists themselves than they are the eponymous creature, making birth/rebirth more of a dramatic character study than an outright horror film. Yes, it delves deeper into the genre’s tropes as it moves into its third act, but its focus on the relationship between these two women is what sets it apart from other versions of this oft-old tale. Similarly, it’s Celie’s emotional connection to the creature itself that adds a new wrinkle to the formula. birth/rebirth dares to ask the question: how far will a mother go to ensure her daughter’s survival?
It cannot be understated how vital Reyes and Ireland are to the success of birth/rebirth. Any shortcomings in Moss and O’Brien’s script are overcome by these two outstanding performances. Reyes, reliable ever since her days on Scrubs, is the emotional core of the film. She grounds the more outlandish elements of the plot, her grief and desperation palpable. But as great as Reyes is (and she is great), it’s Ireland who runs away with the film. Already having proven herself in recent horror offerings like The Dark and the Wicked and The Empty Man, birth/rebirth offers yet another display of her talents.
There’s a surprising amount of humor to be found in birth/rebirth, with Ireland’s deadpan delivery juxtaposed with Reyes’ emotionality providing many of the film’s laughs. Rose seems to be coded as neurodiverse, and birth/rebirth mines a lot of humor out of her interactions with the people around her. It’s a welcome reprieve from the doom and gloom of the proceedings, but thankfully the humor never undercuts the drama.
Despite the occasional burst of humor, don’t expect birth/rebirth to pull any punches when it comes to the grisliness of the premise. After opening with a particularly gruesome overhead shot of an autopsy, it gifts us with several disturbingly gory scenes over the course of its runtime that will make any person shudder (a shot of Rose pulling a placenta out of a pregnant corpse’s belly is particularly upsetting). Mothers beware: this is a rough watch.
birth/rebirth does overstay its welcome a bit, with Moss struggling to maintain narrative momentum as the film shifts further into genre territory. This is not to say the film’s gory offerings don’t satisfy, it’s just that the relationship between Rose and Celie is so captivating that you wish the film would just stick with them, rather than barrel toward its inevitable conclusion.
Despite all of that, birth/rebirth remains a success. It’s a solid feature directorial debut for Moss, but mostly stands as a stellar showcase for these two actresses. Keep this one on your radar, folks.
birth/rebirth had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and will stream on Shudder later this year.
Reviews
‘Penny Lane is Dead’ Review: A Bloody Ozploitation Throwback Fueled by Punk Rock Energy [Fantasia 2026]
A cruel birthday prank leads to Ozploitation levels of violence and bloodshed in Penny Lane is Dead, the raucous horror-comedy feature debut by writer-director Mia’Kate Russell. A vicious ’80s throwback with a modern sapphic lens becomes the energetic canvas for Russell to make the leap from makeup artist to director, which means an infectiously unhinged dedication to practical effects. It’s that stellar effects work, along with a winsome punk rock heroine, that carries this bloody horror-comedy far even when its villains descend into grating cartoon territory.
Everything is rosy for popular girl Penny Lane (Bailey Spalding) in the summer of 1986. She’s celebrating her final days of high school with friends Toni (Tahlee Faraday) and Amy (Alexandra Jensen) at a remote family cabin before setting off to the college of her dreams. Penny is also riding the highs of her new secret romantic relationship with Toni; not even the naive and tender-hearted Amy is aware. Her good mood prompts her to also invite her family’s black sheep: cousin Kat (Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, daughter of actor Ben Mendelsohn).
Though the trio braces themselves for Kat’s bad mood, she instead comes with cupcakes and a smile. It’s all a ruse; Kat gleefully sets about making Toni and Amy uncomfortable as Penny falls unconscious to her spiked treat. When Toni ejects her for the party foul, Kat then turns to criminal boyfriend Angus (Ben O’Toole) to crash the party. It transforms a night of intended revelry into a harrowing fight to survive.
Russell fully embraces B-movie, Ozploitation chaos, putting her characters through the absolute wringer. Punk rock energy and free-flowing drugs for party girl Kat set off simmering tension that roars to a boil with an inciting sexual assault. From there, Russell unleashes a no-holds-barred torrent of violence that delivers no shortage of arterial spray and wince-inducing prosthetic work. It’s not just the practical effects that are cheerworthy here, but Faraday’s resolute performance as Penny’s protector that forces her into fight mode. Penny Lane is Dead is prone to forcing its characters into making dumb decisions for the sake of plot momentum, but it at least imbues Toni with the adaptable street smarts that make her a rootworthy protagonist.
Penny Lane is Dead also excels at making you loathe its detestable villains. Wright-Mendelsohn gives excellent crazy eye; there’s a sadistic, manic edge to Kat that makes her instantly unsettling and unpredictable. She doesn’t bat a (crazy) eye as her much older lover, Angus, and his unsavory henchmen Rodowsky (Fletcher Humphrys) and Merrick (Steve Le Marquand), set about hunting Toni and Amy. But by the final act, Wright-Mendelsohn’s unhinged portrayal of the young psycho stretches thin with nowhere left to go. The one-note villainess descends into cartoon mustache-twirling that an unsatisfying conclusion fails to overcome.
Not helping is the clashing tone; Penny Lane is Dead wants to be a fun romp despite broaching bleak territory. The film’s baddies do their best to channel the ’80s with larger-than-life character choices; O’Toole and Wright-Mendelsohn in particular really latched onto the enjoyment their characters derive from inflicting skin-crawling sexual violence. It’s here where Russell’s examination of genre norms grows confusing, especially as it assigns all responsibility to Kat only for the horrors inflicted upon female bodies. And it really doles out brutal punishment upon Penny, Toni, and Amy.
As a lean, mean horror siege, Penny Lane is Dead holds your attention and effectively pulls you into Toni’s bid to meet dawn with her lives and friendships intact. It’s visceral, propulsive, and a strong debut in terms of style and energy. But Russell’s explorations never venture very deep, and that punk rock energy fizzles out by the film’s end, leaving you split on whether this rape-revenge tale offers enough catharsis at the end of its zany, brutal ride.
Penny Lane is Dead made its world premiere at the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival and releases on Shudder on August 28.
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