After having the opportunity to speak with writer/director Paul Solet, I had the opinion that this was a guy who “gets” horror.  I don’t mean the blood and guts part of it, although that is certainly part of our genre, but more that Solet appears to understand the relationship between horror and theme.  One without the other is simply an exercise in the gross-out, the lowest form of horror as Stephen King sees it, and I happen to agree.

Grace, Solet’s first feature, generated buzz at its premiere at Sundance by causing its viewers to pass out.  I like the idea that a film can make being unconscious preferable to contemplating the story unfolding before their eyes, in the best possible way, of course.  Now available as a Blu-Ray exclusive and coming to DVD on September 15th, Grace will soon be available for popular consumption.

The film follows Madeline Matheson (Jordan Ladd, Cabin Fever), who lives a very organic lifestyle with her sometimes reluctantly-organic husband Michael.  A strict vegetarian and near-obsessive caregiver, Madeline and Michael have attempted to conceive a child, thus far unsuccessfully.  As the film opens, Madeline and Michael are carefully nurturing her pregnancy, and Madeline is taking no chances.

Despite arguments from her mother-in-law, Vivian (Gabrielle Rose), Madeline has chosen to give birth as naturally as possible, under the care of a former lover, now a professional midwife, Patricia Lang (Samantha Ferris).  Patricia clearly harbors feelings for Madeline, yet Madeline is all business – all she wants is the best for her baby.  Following an emergency room scare in which modern medicine and the assumptions of doctors are not viewed favorably, Madeline and Michael are involved in a car crash, leaving Michael, and the unborn baby in Madeline’s belly, dead.

(Samantha Ferris).  Patricia clearly harbors feelings for Madeline, yet Madeline is all business – all she wants is the best for her baby.  Following an emergency room scare in which modern medicine and the assumptions of doctors are not viewed favorably, Madeline and Michael are involved in a car crash, leaving Michael, and the unborn baby in Madeline’s belly, dead.

Madeline makes the not-unreasonable request to carry her child to term, another month or so, and delivery the child in Patricia’s facility in a scene pounding with drums and tension.  It’s here the movie takes its horrific turn as Madeline’s baby, clearly dead on arrival, begins to nurse at Madeline’s breast.  

We understand very quickly that all is not well with little Grace.  She’s a quiet baby, except when she’s hungry, and her diet is rapidly evolving.  Meanwhile, mom-in-law Vivian is feeling the loss of her son and begins a quest to take Grace as a replacement, and Patricia finds herself dropping by Madeline’s house to see her – sometimes without ever leaving her car.  As you might expect, all of this comes to bear some bitter fruit in the conclusion that is not so much shocking as inevitable.

Grace is a unique film in today’s horror market in that every action comes out of character, a welcome change from the hack-‘em-ups at the Cineplex.  Less about a child with peculiar hungers, Grace is an examination of the horrible things that human beings are capable of in the name of love, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that every character in the film was motivated by their passion.  In this way I would argue that there is no true antagonist in the film, in strict, Greek dramatic terms, but instead the film is comprised of various protagonists, all attempting to fill a hole love has let within them.

Grace is a unique film in today’s horror market in that every action comes out of character, a welcome change from the hack-‘em-ups at the Cineplex.  Less about a child with peculiar hungers, Grace is an examination of the horrible things that human beings are capable of in the name of love, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that every character in the film was motivated by their passion.  In this way I would argue that there is no true antagonist in the film, in strict, Greek dramatic terms, but instead the film is comprised of various protagonists, all attempting to fill a hole love has let within them.

The performances are strong throughout, especially a brave performance by Gabrielle Rose as the scheming mother-in-law.  Also noteworthy is Samantha Ferris’ midwife, obsessed with a past love that no longer needs her.  But, the show belongs to Jordan Ladd, who shows a lot of vulnerability here, desperate to love a child for which she has hungered so long.  

obsessed with a past love that no longer needs her.  But, the show belongs to Jordan Ladd, who shows a lot of vulnerability here, desperate to love a child for which she has hungered so long.  

This is first-rate horror, literate and terrifying in its humanity.  Solet cares about his characters, and the performances bring a good script to the level of greatness.  This is what horror should be: a film that never talks down to its audience, but assumes they, like the film’s creators, are intelligent, feeling human beings who realize that the most frightening thing is our capacity for violence and rationalization when something we love is threatened.  Is this love a selfless one, or entirely selfish?  Is Grace the monster, or is it Madeline?  Or Vivian, for that matter?  These are questions the film raises without answering directly, and that’s one of the reasons his film is a must see.  Will you pass out?  Probably not, but you won’t forget it, either.