Movie Review: BIRTH/REBIRTH

Just watched "Birth/Rebirth" on Hulu. It's a quiet, somber, dark reimagining of the Frankenstein tale, told through a woman's lens. Marin Ireland plays Dr. Rose Casper, an emotionally detached but clinically brilliant pathologist who has discovered the secret for reanimating the dead. After successfully resurrecting a potbelly pig, for her next subject, she chooses Lili, a five-year-old girl who dies of bacterial meningitis. She doesn't count on Lili's mother Celie Morales, played by Judy Reyes, to track her down, trying to find out why and how her daughter's body never made it to the morgue. Celie is a maternity nurse, a kind and compassionate woman and skilled clinician in her own right, one whose empathetic approach to patient care is the exact opposite of Dr. Casper's aloof disregard. When Celie learns what Dr. Casper has done, that she's brought her beloved Lili back to life, she pledges herself to helping Casper do whatever it takes to keep her that way.

The dynamic between the two actresses is terrific, and the juxtaposition of Casper and Celie's personalities makes for a compelling contrast that drives the story forward. As both learn from one another along the way, their characters evolve -- and not always for the better.

There's nothing violent or gory here. The horror is subdued and completely relatable, understandable, and painfully human -- which is what makes it so terrifying.