2 weeks Ago By Thomas West
Given the biological realities of pregnancy — in particular, how it influences the female body in many strange and unexpected ways — it’s unsurprising that this phenomenon should have proven to be a favored subject for horror movie directors. Pregnancy horror works because it makes the implicit explicit, forcing viewers to confront their attitudes about this most basic of human functions. What’s more, these films also reveal the extent to which pregnancy, even though necessary for the propagation of the human species, is still a source of fear, revulsion, and mystery for both filmmakers and audiences.
'Baby Ruby' While many pregnancy horror movies focus on the actual act of giving birth, Baby Ruby goes in a different direction, focusing instead on the terrors of postpartum depression. As paranoia begins to settle in and smother new mother Jo (played by Noémie Merlant), she comes to believe everyone and everything around her, even her baby, is sinister. It’s deeply disturbing and remarkably thought-provoking, demonstrating the extent to which the horrors of pregnancy don’t always end when the baby is actually born.
'Honeymoon' Rose Leslie (famous for her role of Ygritte in Game of Thrones ) delivers a haunting performance in the horror film Honeymoon , in which Bea, one of a pair of newlyweds whose honeymoon all too quickly turns horrifying. Of particular note is the moment when Bea, having been seemingly impregnated by some mysterious figures in the woods, ends up giving birth to some strange worm-like creature. The film is a bit of a slow burn but this, combined with the chemistry between leads, makes for a thrilling ride.
'Inside' Throughout the 2000s the French established themselves as the purveyors of some remarkably effective and terrifying horror movies, including Inside . In the film, Sarah Scarangella manages to survive a car crash that killed her husband, only to find herself terrorized when a strange woman invades her house. As if this weren’t enough, she’s also on the verge of giving birth.
A cat-and-mouse game ensues, with revelations, and slayings, that are as shocking for the audience as they are for the characters in the film. 'Grace' Grace is one of those pregnancy horror films which has only become more relevant in the years since its release, since it focuses on a mother who chooses to carry a stillborn baby to term, only to discover it is somehow alive. Of course, not all is as it seems with the new child, which proves to be more than a little monstrous.
Unsurprisingly, the film spends a great deal of time exploring the horrors and terrors that lurk beneath the surface of motherhood, revealing the extremes to which one might go to protect their progeny (no matter how monstrous they might be). 'A Quiet Place' Most of A Quiet Place focuses on the efforts of a family to survive on their isolated farm, even while staying absolutely quiet in an effort to evade ruthless aliens that hunt by sound. Adding to the tension and the fright is that Emily Blunt ’s Evelyn is pregnant and ends up having to give birth while trying to avoid the creatures and their seemingly bottomless appetite.
The scene in which she gives birth is exquisitely terrifying, and it’s a reminder that human life goes on even after the apocalypse. 'Prometheus' Ridley Scott returned to the Alien universe with Prometheus , which acts as a sort of prequel to the main series. Its primary protagonist is Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth Shaw who, at one point, finds herself pregnant with a mysterious creature.
There are few things than watching a character perform a C-section on themselves unless it’s seeing the result of said C-section. Prometheus uses its pregnancy horror to engage with larger questions about the nature of humanity and life itself. 'Titane' The film Titane made a big splash at Cannes when it premiered, and it’s easy to see why.
Its story about a young woman who gets impregnated by a car and eventually gives birth to a strange human/machine hybrid isn’t one’s usual horror movie plot. The film is one of those that dwells with almost loving attention on the body of its protagonist in all of its visceral horror and terror, and it repeatedly draws attention to the way that this unusual (and arguably unnatural) pregnancy takes an increasing toll. This is one pregnancy horror film that is not for the faint of heart.
'Shelley' Surrogacy is the main theme of Shelley , which focuses on a young woman, Elena, who becomes a surrogate for a couple, only for the unborn child to begin exerting an evil influence on her behavior. Once the child, Shelley, is born, things go from bad to worse. Ultimately, the child’s birth leaves several bodies behind, but strangely, the film doesn’t really give the viewer any explanation as to why all of these things took place.
In doing so, it highlights the strange unknowability that so often attaches to the phenomenon of childbirth. 'Antibirth' Natasha Lyonne gives one of her usual strong performances in Antibirth , in which she plays a stoner who inadvertently becomes a test subject for a sinister new drug that induces pregnancy. Like many other pregnancy horror movies, it’s heavy on body horror, particularly in its final scenes, in which Lyonne’s Lou realizes the thing growing inside her isn’t just an ordinary baby.
The movie as a whole manages to be both deeply disturbing and also exceedingly gross, and, in so doing, it raises troubling questions about women’s bodies and the agency they do and don’t have over them. 'The Front Room' Directed by Max and Sam Eggers, The Front Room stars Brandy as a young untenured professor whose pregnancy becomes complicated when her husband’s stepmother moves in with them. The film deftly intertwines terror about the pregnant body with the horror of the aging one, as said mother-in-law (played by a scenery-chewing Kathryn Hunter) slowly loses control of her various bodily functions.
While the film doesn’t always hit all of the marks that it tries to, there’s still enough body and psychological horror here to satisfy. 'Birth/Rebirth' Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of those works of literature whose influence continues to be felt in various parts of the horror landscape. Birth/Rebirth , for example, focuses on the sinister Dr.
Casper, who, despite her dislike of birth, nevertheless remains fixated on it. The death of a young girl, Lila, ends up being the catalyst for new experiments on her part, and, together with the girl's mother, she tries to bring her back to life. In addition to being a chilling exploration of the sometimes distorting power of love, Birth/Rebirth is also a testament to how influential Frankenstein continues to be.
'Mother!' Darren Aronofsky is always willing to take chances as a director, and he did that with Mother! The film's heart is Jennifer Lawrence ’s character, Mother, whose delivery of a child is a key part of the plot. The film interweaves psychological horror with religious themes to provide a troubling reflection on how women’s bodies are often sacrificed and brutalized on the altar of men’s ambitions. 'Alien: Romulus' The Alien franchise has always been about the permeability of the human body, and the newest entry, Romulus , is no exception.
In this case, the film focuses on a group of space colonists whose attempts to recover a spacecraft go tragically awry when they cross paths with the xenomorph. The film is replete with the usual bloodbath, but it’s the pregnancy scenes that stand out. There’s something uniquely horrifying about a human-xenomorph hybrid, whose very existence is, in some ways, an affront to the stability of humanity itself.
'It’s Alive' While It’s Alive may not be the greatest horror ever made, it nevertheless has much to appeal to those who love pregnancy horror. After all, this film has a dangerous mutant baby at its heart, so it’s best just to lean in and enjoy the schlock of it all. Beneath all of the gore and the murderous baby, though, there’s quite a profound rumination on the fact that parents, for all that they love their children, also can’t escape the idea that, just perhaps, there’s also something monstrous about them.
'The Brood' If there’s one director who is known for his love of body horror, it would be David Cronenberg . In The Brood, he draws the viewer’s attention to Nola, a woman who is driven to such heights of rage as a result of years of abuse (as well as a custody battle with her husband) that she ends up creating children without the need of a man. This film, even more than much of the rest of the director’s oeuvre , really leans into the bloody unpleasantness of birth and, as such, it reveals the distrust and disgust with which far too many men view the female body.
'Rosemary’s Baby' If there’s one film that sets the bar for the pregnancy horror film, it would have to be Rosemary’s Baby . Mia Farrow gives one of her best performances as the title character, a young woman who finds herself drawn into the sinister plans of a pair of elderly Satanists who live in her apartment building. The film relies more on psychological suspense than body horror and, in doing so, it reveals the extent to which Rosemary’s descent into madness is as much a result of her husband’s gaslighting as it is her giving birth to the Antichrist.
'The First Omen' The First Omen is one of those horror prequels that actually does a strong job of setting up the story to come. Nell Tiger Free is perfectly cast as Margaret, a young nun who finds out that she is actually at the heart of a sinister conspiracy at the heart of the Catholic Church. She is, of course, the woman who will give birth to the Antichrist seen in the original film, and the scenes in which she gives birth (and the ones in which she is impregnated) highlight the body horror that is so often a key part of movies about pregnancy.
'Immaculate' Sydney Sweeney demonstrates her remarkable range as an actress in Immaculate , in which she portrays Sister Cecilia, who goes to a convent in Italy, only to find out that things there are far more sinister than she imagined. Events take a particularly shocking turn when she discovers she is pregnant while still a virgin, and they get even worse once she learns the truth of who she is and why she’s been brought there. As such the film is a fascinating and haunting examination of weighty philosophical issues concerning faith and childbirth and, of course, the human yearning for a salvific figure.
'Apartment 7A' Julia Garner gives a spectacular performance in Apartment 7A , which is a prequel to the beloved film Rosemary’s Baby . Garner’s Terry Gionoffrio is Rosemary’s predecessor, and, like the latter, she falls under the sway of the Castevets, ultimately becoming pregnant with the child of the Devil. While it might lack the psychological complexity of its predecessor, it does have its fair share of scares and horror, and Garner gives one of the most memorable performances of her career.
The ending is as tragic as one would expect and is, in its own way, even more wrenching than the original. 'False Positive' In the thought-provoking False Positive , couple Lucy and Adrian Martin seek the services of fertility doctor John Hindle. While things go well at first, his real motives are far from altruistic, and Lucy ultimately has to make some terrible choices regarding her babies, her marriage, and her life.
Unlike many other pregnancy horror movies, this one is far more psychologically oriented, and it’s Hindle’s motives — his desire to spread his bloodline by inseminating women with his sperm — that makes the film so believable and thus so terrifying. Thomas J. West III earned a PhD in film and screen studies from Syracuse University in 2018.
His writing on film and TV has appeared at Screen Rant, Screenology, FanFare, Primetimer, Cinemania, and in a number of scholarly journals and edited collections. He co-hosts the Queens of the B's podcast and writes a regular newsletter, Omnivorous, on Substack. He is also an active member of GALECA, the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.
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