Grace

I went to see Grace with my best friend Brett at USC. Then, the movie wasn't going to have a theatrical release, so the only way I could see it before the DVD release was this free screening. It was amazing. Jordan Ladd plays Madeline, a woman who desperately wants to have a child. After she loses her husband and her child in a horrific car accident, she insists on carrying the dead child to term. She eventually gives birth to the child and it turns out to be alive! Madeline takes her home, but Grace (the baby) gets sick and won't eat. She discovers that Grace really thirsts for human blood. What's a mother to do?

This film was excellent. It's very low budget and is an independant film, but it rivals many of the studio produced movies that have come out recently. The acting is superb. Jordan Ladd captures the conflicts that this mother feels: she needs to feed her child, but at what expense? The deterioration of her character is very interesting. She starts as a confident, strong woman and breaks down because of stress and her zombie baby. It's very apparent that Madeline loves her child and would do anything for her.

One thing that is very unique to this genre is that the baby is not portrayed as a monster. It looks like a normal child, but is unresponsive to regular baby food. Most movies with a similar story line would show that the child is warped, evil, or demonized. Grace is a pretty normal child except for her diet. I still argue that she is a zombie, but a very different one than is usual.

This movie made me cringe, scream, and laugh. There were some extremely funny parts, particularly having to do with Madeline's mother in law. The car accident was very scary and sudden. It seems that airbags are evil in horror movies (as apparent in this movie and Final Destination 2).

At the screening I went to, the director, lead actress, and composer were in attendence. I found out that they had very few takes for each scene, so this made me admire the actors even more. The composer also used very modern means to come up with the music: using the unsettling buzzing of flies, the screams of children, and the creak of floorboards. The lullaby that was composed for the film was beautiful, yet unsettling.

If you get the opportunity to see this film, please see it. It's completely worth it. Support the little guy!