Though there feels like a certain familiarity within the genre beats Angela Gulner navigates with The Beldham, an allegorical horror film about postpartum and generational cycles, the more Gulner’s script reveals itself, the clearer it becomes that this is a far more personal, deep-rooted drama than it is any type of haunted house or villainous parent genre effort.
When we meet Harper (an absolutely divine Katie Parker) it’s evident that she has suffered some bout of psychosis that endangered both her and her child’s life. And as much as her mother, Sadie (Patricia Heaton), offers assistance, it’s clear the path towards recuperation won’t be one of ease. It doesn’t help that within the walls of Sadie’s home – where Harper is staying – there are strange goings-on regarding the plethora of black birds that litter the property, as well as the the odd mentality of both Sadie’s new boyfriend (a stern Corbin Bernsen) and the live-in aide, Bette (Emma Fitzpatrick), who, again, claim to be there for Harper’s well-being.
Gulner offering up a tight-knit group of suspicious players, a singular location, and the ominous presence of the birds lends itself to the film’s horror temperament, but it further plays into the emotional core of the story and the commentary around post-partum. The Beldham is continually a film that twists our emotions, reveling in the notion that what we are seeing on screen may or may not be physical, with Parker’s performance hauntingly, beautifully dedicated to Harper’s plight.
Like most horror efforts, there’s a twist of sorts that the film hinges itself on, and, to Gulner’s credit, it’s quite expertly executed. It’s one that will very much change how one views the film on a second showing, with its devastating reveal lacing the already affecting story with a deeper emotional weight. It’s an alternate take on what it is to be a house of a certain haunt, with inherited trauma and the journey of motherhood tied so intrinsically together inside.
During the opening of the film we’re informed that Beldham is described, in folklore, as a bird-like crone who feeds on the souls of infants. Gulner’s film takes this haunting figure and utilises it to devastating potential throughout, though anyone hoping The Beldham will be adhering to jump scares or overt violence best seek their superficial thrills elsewhere. Gulner and Parker commit to the genuine horror of the nauseating unknown.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Beldham is now available On Digital and On Demand in the United States.
