Nightborn (2026)
Official Synopsis
When a British couple relocates to a remote cottage in the Finnish countryside to start a family, a traumatic birth awakens an ancient force tied to local folklore. As a new mother becomes convinced something is wrong with her baby, she must confront the terrifying possibility that her fears are more than postpartum anxiety.
William’s Review
Nightborn is one of the hardest movies I’ve had to rate.
There are scenes in this movie that are genuinely disturbing in ways that go far beyond traditional horror. At the same time, I can’t ignore how well made it is. That left me stuck somewhere between never wanting to revisit it and still thinking horror fans should probably experience it once.
The story follows a couple who move from London to Finland to start a family. After their child is born, the mother begins believing the baby isn’t entirely human. The movie walks a careful line between the new baby experience, folklore, and supernatural horror. For a long time, you’re never completely sure whether what you’re seeing is real or whether everything is happening inside her mind. That uncertainty kept me invested throughout the film.
I also appreciated how deeply the movie embraces Finnish folklore. We don’t get many horror films built around myths that aren’t already familiar to American audiences, and I found myself wanting to learn more about the legends after the movie ended. The folklore never feels tacked on. It becomes part of the emotional story the film is telling.
The performances are excellent across the board. Seidi Haarla carries almost every scene, constantly making you question whether she’s losing her grip on reality or discovering something nobody else can see. Rupert Grint continues building an impressive horror résumé, and both actors make the relationship feel believable. The cinematography is beautiful, especially the isolated Finnish forests that create a constant feeling of loneliness.
What keeps me from recommending it more strongly is the way it presents its horror. The graphic imagery isn’t there for quick shock value. It is tied directly to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and motherhood. That connection makes every disturbing scene feel intensely personal. Instead of becoming entertaining horror, it becomes emotionally exhausting. By the end, I admired what the filmmakers accomplished more than I enjoyed watching it.
I don’t think most audiences will enjoy Nightborn. Horror fans looking for thoughtful folk horror with genuinely unsettling imagery probably will. Everyone else should know exactly what they’re getting into before pressing play.
There are scenes in this movie that are genuinely disturbing in ways that go far beyond traditional horror. At the same time, I can’t ignore how well made it is. That left me stuck somewhere between never wanting to revisit it and still thinking horror fans should probably experience it once.
The story follows a couple who move from London to Finland to start a family. After their child is born, the mother begins believing the baby isn’t entirely human. The movie walks a careful line between the new baby experience, folklore, and supernatural horror. For a long time, you’re never completely sure whether what you’re seeing is real or whether everything is happening inside her mind. That uncertainty kept me invested throughout the film.
I also appreciated how deeply the movie embraces Finnish folklore. We don’t get many horror films built around myths that aren’t already familiar to American audiences, and I found myself wanting to learn more about the legends after the movie ended. The folklore never feels tacked on. It becomes part of the emotional story the film is telling.
The performances are excellent across the board. Seidi Haarla carries almost every scene, constantly making you question whether she’s losing her grip on reality or discovering something nobody else can see. Rupert Grint continues building an impressive horror résumé, and both actors make the relationship feel believable. The cinematography is beautiful, especially the isolated Finnish forests that create a constant feeling of loneliness.
What keeps me from recommending it more strongly is the way it presents its horror. The graphic imagery isn’t there for quick shock value. It is tied directly to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and motherhood. That connection makes every disturbing scene feel intensely personal. Instead of becoming entertaining horror, it becomes emotionally exhausting. By the end, I admired what the filmmakers accomplished more than I enjoyed watching it.
I don’t think most audiences will enjoy Nightborn. Horror fans looking for thoughtful folk horror with genuinely unsettling imagery probably will. Everyone else should know exactly what they’re getting into before pressing play.
Amy’s Review
Nightborn put William right back in the doghouse. I have never liked childbirth scenes in movies. They make me uncomfortable every single time. This movie doesn’t just have one. It has the worst one I have ever seen. Ten minutes into the movie I already wanted to leave, and from that point on it just kept finding new ways to make me wish I hadn’t watched it.
The frustrating part is that I actually think the story is interesting.
A woman believes something is wrong with her baby after giving birth, and the movie makes you question whether she’s suffering from postpartum depression or whether something supernatural is actually happening. I liked that mystery. I also liked the Finnish folklore behind everything. Those ideas kept me watching even though I desperately wanted several scenes to end.
The problem is how graphic the movie becomes. There are close-ups of childbirth, breastfeeding injuries, postpartum recovery, blood, and other things I never needed to see in this much detail. I know women go through these experiences. That doesn’t mean I want a camera zoomed in on every single one of them. It stopped feeling like horror and started feeling like something I was forced to sit through.
The subtitles actually made it worse. Normally, if something gets too gross, I can look away for a second. Here I couldn’t because I had to keep reading. I found myself staring at scenes I wanted absolutely nothing to do with just so I wouldn’t miss the dialogue. I honestly wished I’d brought a blindfold.
The movie is well acted and genuinely creepy. The baby crying throughout the movie creates constant tension, and there are several moments where I questioned whether what I was seeing was really happening. None of that outweighed how miserable the experience was for me.
If you’re a horror fan and a mother who can handle extremely graphic pregnancy and childbirth imagery, you may appreciate what this movie is doing. I couldn’t. There are several images from Nightborn that I wish I could erase from my memory, and that’s not an experience I ever want to repeat.
The frustrating part is that I actually think the story is interesting.
A woman believes something is wrong with her baby after giving birth, and the movie makes you question whether she’s suffering from postpartum depression or whether something supernatural is actually happening. I liked that mystery. I also liked the Finnish folklore behind everything. Those ideas kept me watching even though I desperately wanted several scenes to end.
The problem is how graphic the movie becomes. There are close-ups of childbirth, breastfeeding injuries, postpartum recovery, blood, and other things I never needed to see in this much detail. I know women go through these experiences. That doesn’t mean I want a camera zoomed in on every single one of them. It stopped feeling like horror and started feeling like something I was forced to sit through.
The subtitles actually made it worse. Normally, if something gets too gross, I can look away for a second. Here I couldn’t because I had to keep reading. I found myself staring at scenes I wanted absolutely nothing to do with just so I wouldn’t miss the dialogue. I honestly wished I’d brought a blindfold.
The movie is well acted and genuinely creepy. The baby crying throughout the movie creates constant tension, and there are several moments where I questioned whether what I was seeing was really happening. None of that outweighed how miserable the experience was for me.
If you’re a horror fan and a mother who can handle extremely graphic pregnancy and childbirth imagery, you may appreciate what this movie is doing. I couldn’t. There are several images from Nightborn that I wish I could erase from my memory, and that’s not an experience I ever want to repeat.