Birth/Rebirth

Lila the undead

James Whale would probably approve of Birth/Rebirth, a new take on the Frankenstein story which, like Whale’s 1931 movie, is creepy, dark and yet shot through with a touching humanity. Until it isn’t. It’s a female take, with the focus largely on women, plus a female director, who also co-wrote, and the cinematographer, composer, editors, production designers and so on are mostly women too. Plus two stars in Marin Ireland and Judy Reyes who play either side of a familiar stereotype. On one side the monstrous feminine of Rose Casper (Ireland), an emotionless pathologist in a hospital morgue who is secretly collecting genetic material to further experiments into the reanimation of dead people. … Read more