Movie Review: The Lullaby (2017)

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The Lullaby is a horror film from director Darrell Roodt (Dracula 3000, Dangerous Ground), and writer Tarryn-Tanille Prinsloo. It stars Reine Swart (Z Nation, Dominion) as Chloe, who returns to her hometown of Eden Rock after having run away, and she has returned with a newborn child. As the days progress, she begins seeing and hearing things out of the ordinary as she deals with postpartum depression.

What we liked:
This film definitely feels like it had a large budget, and if not, they really did an amazing job with their resources. The production of this film was fantastic. Everything from the sound and lighting, to the cinematography, was about as good as it gets. The acting was phenomenal in this film as well. The actors in this film all had a lot of experience for the most part, and the experience really shined in what is a very small cast.

What we thought could have been better:
We would have liked to see more focus on the history behind what was going on in Eden Rock, and why it is still relevant. The story doesn’t really go into a lot of detail. The majority of the film focused more on postpartum depression that Chloe was experiencing. While this is a good anchor for a story, this film tends to lean on it more than go into more of the rest of the elements involved where the horror lies. Besides something that had happened in 1901, they don’t really expand much on this.

Overall:
The Lullaby definitely has some great atmosphere at times, and some outstanding acting and visuals, but the story itself mostly falls flat. If you are into slow burn films, definitely give this one a watch, but we felt that there wasn’t a lot of buildup, and not much of a payoff here at the end.

The Lullaby is available as of yesterday 3/2 on VOD and in select theaters listed below:
Phoenix – Valley Art Los Angeles – Laemmle Music Hall Philadelphia – PFS Roxy Theater Chicago – Facets Cinematheque Atlanta – Plaza Theater Dallas – Texas Theater Cleveland – Cedar Lee Cinemas San Francisco – Roxie Theater Miami – Cinema Paradiso Denver – SIE Film Center