The Lullaby

Becoming a parent is the most wonderful part of your life. To see your own child develop, and learn new things gives so much joy. Having a child also means you have a lot of responsibility, where you have to make sure your child is taken care of, and live in a good home. Unfortunately, not every parent seems to understand how important it is to make the life of a child as good as possible. Every year you read about child abuse, or parents who are addicted to alcohol ( or drugs ) and leave no attention to their own children. It is a cruel world we live in, thankfully there are really good parents out there that work really hard to try and make their family as good as possible. Parenthood can be very difficult, and it is not supposed to be very easy. Hollywood have taken on this subject many times, in all kinds of genre from drama, comedy, thrillers or even horror films. One of the films that comes to my mind, is the 2009 film called Orphan. A very effective horror thriller from director Jaume Collet-Serra. The story surrounds a family who choose to adopt a 9 year old child from an orphanage, as it turns out that this is no ordinary child. Orphan managed to question different issues, especially on how an orphanage can be tricked, without having any solid information. The acting from the cast worked really good as well, especially from Isabelle Fuhrman as the orphan child Esther. If you have not seen Orphan yet, i suggest you rent it online, or if you can find it on Netflix or any other streaming service. We can´t forget to mention the very disturbing french horror movie Inside from 2007 ( not the American remake ). Now this is one of the best horror films that includes a pregnant mother, and how everything can change when you are faced with a really disturbed personality. The film is directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, and they did a really good job making a really effective home invasion horror film. Also a film you must see. Recently i got a chance to sit down and watch The Lullaby, a new B movie horror film on VOD. A film that seems to bring up the subject of being a young parent. Is this an unexpected highlight on VOD, or is The Lullaby a film not worth your precious time ?

Chloe van Heerden ( Reine Swart ) returns to her home town Eden Rock as a young mother to her first born child. Chloe moves in with her mother Ruby van Heerden ( Thandi Puren ), who helps her daughter in any way she can. But Chloe is struggling with this new part of her life, being a young mother, and with her own personal problems. Each day Chloe is digging deeper into a dark depression, and everything is just getting worse. Ruby can see that Chloe needs help, and she talks to family psychologist Dr. Timothy Reed ( Brandon Auret ) who diagnose her with intrusive thoughts and a mild case of baby blues. Chloe keeps seeing this evil entity, that she believe wants to hurt her child, Is this really true, or is Chloe becoming even more unstable ? 

To be completely honest, i did not have any expectations about The Lullaby. Maybe that is why i am pleased to say, this is a surprisingly good B movie horror film. First of all, the acting is much better than most B horror movies usually includes. You have the lead character Chloe van Herdeen ( portrayed by actor Reine Swart ), and i have to say that Reine does a really good job, playing an unstable young mother. Especially the scenes when she is becoming even more unstable. and have no idea what she is doing. I also really enjoy actor Thandi Puren´s performance as Chloe´s mother Ruby van Heerden. You can tell she is having a very difficult time, handling her mentally unstable daughter, and who is forced to take care of Chloe´s baby. The tension between mother and daughter grows throughout the film. I have to mention actor Brandon Auret here as well ( known for his work in Neill Blomkamp´s films District 9, Elysium and Chappie ). He portrait the psychiatrist Dr. Timothy Reed. Even if this is not one of his better performances, he fits with the character.  The story surrounding The Lullaby is pretty simple, but still effective. The film tries to give you the chance to decide, is the young mother mentally unstable, or is she really seeing someone hurting her child ? Without any big budget effects, the film tries to focus more on being creepy with sound effects and make up effects, and this is also a good decision. I also like the story between the mother Ruby and her daughter Chloe. It must be horrible seeing your own daughter losing control of herself, and her baby, how do you deal with that in the best possible way ? Director Darrel Roodt ( director of Winnie Mandela ) have made a B horror movie that actually works better than you would expect. This is not a unique, or original film in any way. But considering the subjects brought up here on mental issues, and being a parent, i have to say he have done a good job. The Lullaby shows that there is still potential for B horror movies, as long as you have a solid story and actors who know how to develop the characters correctly. If you enjoy B horror movies, i suggest you check out The Lullaby on VOD. A film that actually parents should watch together, that must be a good sign ?

Rating: DDD