‘ANTIBIRTH’ Review

I…don’t know where to start here. It’s Antibirth! This movie is totally crazy! Let’s just summarize.

Lou (Natasha Lyonne) is a chainsmoking, hard partying — and I mean HARD — lady. The last thing you would expect or want to see for her is a pregnancy, but after a night of black out she soon discovers that’s maybe the case. Her denial is strong, but she keeps getting bigger and it’s the obvious answer. But then strange things begin happening to her body: bizarre dreams involving mascot characters, infected skin, rotting teeth, extremely blistered feet, and an absurdly distended belly that pulsates. Aided by her friend Sadie (Chloe Sevigny) and a mysterious woman named Lorna (Meg Tilly) who wants to help her, they set out to discover what’s going on…and it’s fucked up. Drug dealer Gabriel (Mark Webber) gave her something special that night, and it’s not what you think.

Writer/director Danny Perez has crafted a one-of-a-kind experience here. It’s 90% a dark comedy about a pregnant woman abusing her body as often as possible, and 10% WTF horror film. The last 15 minutes are so bizarre, it a way reminding me of William Friedkin’s Killer Joe in terms of intensity packed with a brick wall stop that will leave you reeling. The tone is consistent, and Lyonne is fantastic. Imagine her Orange is the New Black character getting out of prison and you’ve pretty much got it, and she plays it so well. Supporting cast is also quite game, giving good performances with interesting characters. Tilly delivers really well on the ambiguity and strange nature of Lorna. She’s my favorite Tilly; I’ve always preferred Meg’s subtlety to Jennifer’s boisterousness, and she’s given the opportunity to showcase it well here.

This is one of those movies that you can’t really explain to people, they just need to see it to believe it because your words just can’t do it justice. Yet I find myself struggling to find a way to recommend it. Even if you’re prepared and you’re the right crowd for this, at least 50% of you won’t go for it. It’s a movie that isn’t entirely the sum of its parts, ending so epically strange that I feel a desire to watch it again to see if it really works or if I’m just sideswiped and wowed by it. I think it might be worth a look just to see good, established, and repected actors working on a low budget genre pic and elevating it beyond where it “belongs.” Proceed with caution, but I enjoyed it.