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A mother’s love bonds stronger than anything else on the planet.  See to what lengths a desperate mother will go.

Sure, childbirth is a beautiful thing.  People also say motherhood is one of the most wonderful parts of a woman’s life.  I think this sort of thing could be terrifying.  Paul Solet must have thought the same thing when he set out to make his debut horror feature Grace, about a mother with a very unusual baby. 

After trying for a baby for many months Madeline Matheson (Jordan Ladd) is finally pregnant. Her mother-in-law is not too happy with her “hippie ways” of vegetarianism and wanting to use a midwife instead of the family doctor in a traditional hospital setting.  Things are going fine for Madeline until she and her husband are in a horrible car accident.  Her husband dies and the doctor’s tell her the baby she has carried for the last eight months is dead too.  Refusing to believe it she proceeds to carry the baby the rest of the term and give birth with the midwife as she had planned.  The child appears stillborn but strangely revives after a few minutes, but there is something strange about this baby.  Little Grace has draws flies, fills her mother with a lust/need for meat and eats in a very different manner.  Madeline struggles to care for her newborn and stay away from her mother-in-law and the doctor she begs her to see, both of whom have their own issues stemming from the area of motherhood.

This is a film showing, above all else, the strength of a mother’s love.  There is a horror aspect to the film with the odd little child and its feeding habits, but how far a mother will go for her kid is amazing.  Take a woman who is a vegetarian and put her in the weakened state Madeline is in, she will eat a big steak against her moral standing behind it, just for her baby.  Moms go to great lengths to protect their spawn and this film shows this wonderfully and puts a fantastical spin on the whole ordeal.  Ladd takes hold of the reins very well and pulls you into the mind and life of a distraught woman, but as equally impressive is the mother-in-law, Vivian, played by Gabrielle Rose.  Vivian wants to see her grandchild but she is also dealing with her own loss as a mother.  Her son died in that car crash and now she has an emptiness inside of her which trickles down to her husband and those around her. 

If you have read anything about this film online then you know of the infamous Sundance screening where two men allegedly fainted during the film.  This is discussed during one of the many featurettes included on this DVD release from Anchor Bay.  Each of the featurettes (which range from under ten minutes to over thirty) follows every aspect of the film from conception, to the filming, to the look of the film and all the way up to the legendary experience at Sundance.  There is also a commentary with Solet, producer Adam Green (director of the slasher Hatchet) and director of photography Zoran Popovic as well as the trailer but there is something sorely missing - the original short.  To help pique interest in the idea of the film a few years ago Solet made a short along the same lines.  Supposedly it is on the DVD from the Best Buy exclusive early release but every other copy it has been omitted.  If you do a little searching online there is a website that has it to watch, along with a version containing a commentary.  Thanks to the internet you get to see it, but it would have been nice to have on the DVD. 

Aside from the omission of the short this is a great film for horror fans, mothers, sons and daughters and anyone.  If you are a bit squeamish like the wusses at Sundance make sure you’re on a couch so when you pass out you won’t hurt yourself.

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