The horror genre is blessed with many subgenres to appease fans, including body horror. In Son of Sara: Volume 1, a pregnant woman experiences strange physical and mental changes as she carries what can only be described as something more than she bargained for.
While it stays within familiar territory, there are more than a few interesting elements that will keep the audience engaged for most of the film. Written and directed by Houston Bone, Son of Sara: Volume 1 is available on Digital and On Demand in the U.S. and Canada on July 31.
‘Son of Sara: Volume 1’ Builds Toward a Wild Final Act
The film follows Sara (Chloe Van Landschoot), who is pregnant and not loving it. She has help from her friend/partner, Carol (Tymika Tafari), and they’re good together. Still, pregnancy has a way of wearing down the woman carrying the unborn child. To that end, Sara begins to have strange nightmares and urges to eat raw meat.
After giving and eating the meat, Sara retches and pulls objects from her throat as she chokes. A quick cleanup of the sink and toilet, however, can’t flush away what is now clearly a more complicated, even demonic pregnancy.
There are more than a few things that save this film from being just another body-horror and devil-worship film. In fact, the film truly goes off the rails in a good way during the final act. It is guaranteed to catch viewers off guard.
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Using pregnancy as the central point of the body horror theme was a great choice. Writer-director Houston Bone takes that idea and builds it slowly, twisting the already natural bodily changes of pregnancy and ramping up the horror as it becomes clear that something is wrong.
Chloe Van Landschoot is up to the task as Sara, giving us a real sense of the struggles of pregnancy and the horrific realization that, especially in the final act, this isn’t just a physical issue but a dark and evil one as well.
The body horror is executed quite well. As with everything else, it is built up in pieces until it is unleashed fully in the last act of the movie. While the physical aspects of the body horror, particularly the pregnancy, are obvious, it’s the mental side of it that helps the most here. As Sara’s world and mental state disintegrate, she develops odd eating habits, regurgitates strange things, and the outlandish, blood-spewing birth makes for a wild journey.
Builds Toward a Wild Final Act
There are some truly unhinged performances by Garrett Hnatiuk as Troy and Jane Moffat as Agnes. The mother-son duo helps the film’s weird and wacky back end turn into a bloody good time. There were a few times I laughed out loud at the absurdity of what I was watching, but it kept my interest, thanks in no small part to these two.
There is one scene in particular in the final act that wasn’t scripted, but the director thankfully kept it in. It fit perfectly into the chaos unfolding. Who knew worshiping demons could be so destructive yet so much fun at the same time?
The film is not without its flaws, as a few scenes are far too convenient. It is also hard not to cringe at some of the dialogue. The main actors do a good job in their respective roles, but at times the horror tropes drag down the momentum. While the score is effective at times, a few scene entrances don’t feel right. It doesn’t always fit the film’s atmosphere.
Overall, Son of Sara: Volume 1 is a fun romp through bloody body horror and wonderful weirdness. The actors don’t overplay their roles. There’s just enough buildup to make the final 20 minutes a strange, distinctive way to wrap up the movie. Let’s hope Volume 2 is made, as I’m curious about what will happen to the new family unit.
