Director: Ivan Kavanagh
Notable Cast: Andi Matichak, Luke David Blumm, Emile
Hirsch
It was repeated throughout my childhood, a phrase that never
left me. Never judge a book by its cover. Yet, it’s often an approach that any
adult regularly uses on a day-to-day basis. In the bombardment of information
received from the marketing teams in film, it is hard not to judge a film by
its cover. In this case, judge a film by its title. Son is not
necessarily the most riveting title and certainly doesn’t invoke the horror
element at the core of the film. Still, don’t be me. Don’t skip out on the film
thinking it is some Redbox exclusive indie low budget flick. Son is a
haunting and atmospheric trip through the stark fears of motherhood that reels
into some jackknife turns to deliver its horrors.
Coming from director Ivan Kavanagh, director of the scrumptiously
unnerving ghost film The Canal from a handful of years ago and the often
overlooked western Never Grow Old, Son is taking heavy handed
inspiration from classic horror like Rosemary’s Baby and asks the
question - what happens after the fact?