After years of trying to conceive, Madeline (Jordan Ladd) and Michael Matheson (Stephen Park, 'Scary Movie 3', 'The Pink Panther') are finally about to become parents. But with only weeks to go before delivery, an accident leaves both Michael and the unborn child dead. Devastated, Madeline decides to carry the child to term and deliver naturally. What seemed like madness becomes a miracle when, after delivering a dead child, Madeline finds her baby is indeed alive… and hungry.
She soon discovers that her baby – now named Grace – thirsts for something more than mother’s milk, and Madeline is determined to feed her child, no matter the consequences. With nowhere to turn, Madeline must make a mother’s ultimate decision: What will she sacrifice to keep her child alive?
After cutting his teeth on the short film Means to an End, director Paul Solet brings us his first full length feature, Grace. For Solet, Grace is most definitely a solid and intelligent launchpad for what should prove a dynamic and interesting career within the genre. From the opening scenes the easy pacing is evident and at no time does Solet feel it necessary to rush the story or the visuals, much in the style of Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls the movie never strays from it's careful pacing.
Jordan Ladd and Samantha Ferris' acting prowess prove to be the anchors that hold this almost theatrical drama together, that's right... I said it... drama! This film has a distinct feel of a drama overladen with horrific elements, much like Catherine Deneuve's Carol in Repulsion we slowly see the crumbling of a once confident and focused young woman into a shadow of her former self. Jordan Ladd manages to capture the feeling of isolation and desperation with great skill and at no point during the proceedings do you feel like she is anything but a distraught mother.
The only truly weak point in the cast is sadly US TV stalwart Gabrielle Rose, who spends the majority of the film ostensibly overacting in an angst ridden performance as Michael's mother, otherwise the cast handles Solet's taut script with sturdy and impressive performances.
So you may be asking, if I really wanted to like this (and many of the above points prove it) why the preface?
For me this film ultimately fails for one reason... what could have been a genuine statement on postpartum depression and it's effect on the stability of relationships within families and the effects on the individual identity of the sufferer turns into a formula horror outcome... I admire Solet for not trying to be clever with a twist ending, but sadly the lack of an inventive and much needed psychological twist is what makes Grace an interesting film rather than one that will forever be ingrained in the minds of horror fans.
Grace emerges on Blu-ray with a fair 2.35:1 transfer. This transfer's most noticeable trait is the incredible amount of noise seen throughout the movie. Solid-colored and dark backgrounds in particular abound with noise. There's also a distinctly unnatural artificial brightness that runs throughout much of the film, resulting in the majority of the fine detail appearing washed out. Grace's transfer isn't a flat-out terrible one, but it's far from pretty
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