The Lullaby starts well and stays the course. A new mum succumbs to disturbing visions as she tries to settle into her new maternal role in her own mother's house.
Is it postpartum depression or something more sinister?
Well, it's a horror movie so there are no prizes for coming up with the right answer to the above question. Director Darrell James Roodt is a seasoned veteran with dozens of films to his credit ranging over several genres. He even has a musical with Whoopi Goldberg under his belt. There is more than a smattering of horror movies in his CV. And these show in this production - he knows his way around spools of the spooky stuff.
He has a very competent cast to work with. Reine Swart as Chloe van Heerden, the 19-year-old single mother tackles the lead with conviction and credibility. The same might be said of Thandi Puren as Ruby van Heerden, who plays her hard hearted mother.
Justus de Jager, director of photography, is both capable and adventurous enough to ensure that The Lullaby is a satisfying visual experience.
The names have by now given away that the film is a South African production.
Special effects are adequate, not actually derivative, but there is a sort of 'been there done that' feel to most of the effects. Jump scares are attempted but by and large don't work. There is an atmosphere of the supernatural rising to prominence as postpartum depression takes second place.
The contrast between hysteria and the sinister with the domestic realities and attendant relationships of single parenthood add an interesting dimension to the film.
I can't put my finger on exactly what or why, but there is an odd Australian sensibility to the South African Lullaby.
The Lullaby is certainly worth a watch. It doesn't bring a lot new to the table but it is interesting enough and provides a worthwhile insight into the flowering of a newish national theatre of horror.
Is it postpartum depression or something more sinister?
Well, it's a horror movie so there are no prizes for coming up with the right answer to the above question. Director Darrell James Roodt is a seasoned veteran with dozens of films to his credit ranging over several genres. He even has a musical with Whoopi Goldberg under his belt. There is more than a smattering of horror movies in his CV. And these show in this production - he knows his way around spools of the spooky stuff.
He has a very competent cast to work with. Reine Swart as Chloe van Heerden, the 19-year-old single mother tackles the lead with conviction and credibility. The same might be said of Thandi Puren as Ruby van Heerden, who plays her hard hearted mother.
Justus de Jager, director of photography, is both capable and adventurous enough to ensure that The Lullaby is a satisfying visual experience.
The names have by now given away that the film is a South African production.
Special effects are adequate, not actually derivative, but there is a sort of 'been there done that' feel to most of the effects. Jump scares are attempted but by and large don't work. There is an atmosphere of the supernatural rising to prominence as postpartum depression takes second place.
The contrast between hysteria and the sinister with the domestic realities and attendant relationships of single parenthood add an interesting dimension to the film.
I can't put my finger on exactly what or why, but there is an odd Australian sensibility to the South African Lullaby.
The Lullaby is certainly worth a watch. It doesn't bring a lot new to the table but it is interesting enough and provides a worthwhile insight into the flowering of a newish national theatre of horror.