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Cast: Alex Moody, Linda Bowling, Megan Dowd
Lost on a back road in eastern Arkansas, insurance adjuster Elizabeth encounters the creepy Charley, whose aging mother, Momma Aycock, is very eager to marry off her slow-witted son. Momma has been down this road before with other potential -- and very unlucky -- mates, but this new arrival might just be the one.
Birthrite is a low-budget, Independent thriller that for the most part succeeds in what it sets out to do. The film opens with a blonde woman being chased through the woods by a male only to get caught, it then switches to Elizabeth who is an insurance adjuster. She is on her way to a farm that sustained wind damages but gets lost on all the back wood roads. After her car breaks down she meets Charlie, he tells her his mommy can help her out and with no other options Elizabeth agrees to go with him. The whole problem is Charlie is mentally challenged and his mother is a control freak who just wants to marry him off but up till now they haven't had much luck. Soon after arriving at Charlie's house Elizabeth begins to suspect something isn't right but it is too late because before you know she is being held against her will. Birthrite is a psychological thriller that does a nice job of creating some suspense and it also tosses in a twist or two as well along the way. There's not much in the way of blood but there doesn't need to be since the film is not really a horror film, most of the carnage is done off camera but it seems to work here. Director, Mark L. Maness does a nice job at keeping the film moving at a good pace and creating the right mood, the settings are simple but the woods provide a nice backdrop for the story, it creates the feel on having nowhere to run. The cast is a little weak but they all did a pretty good job playing their characters, the mother and son seemed to be better actors than the girl but they all handle their roles well enough. Towards the end of the film you find out who the blonde woman was that was running through the woods as the film opened and there is a scene inside the credits as well that closes out the film, or is it a new beginning? I will let you find that out for yourself. Birthrite obviously isn't the best of it's kind but taking into consideration the budget and I'm sure time allowed to get the movie done it turned out to be a creepy little thriller that does a lot more right than wrong. If you like the genre then I recommend giving it a chance, you could do a lot worse.
Released by Rivercoast Films
** 1/2 Out Of *****