My quick rating – 3.7/10. My quick rating – 3.7/10. This movie starts with a gruesome bang, claiming to be based on true events of fetal abduction. While there have been real-life cases of this horrifying crime, any sense of realism goes out the window pretty quickly. It’s as if writer Mike Walsh got halfway through and thought, “Nah, I don’t want it this crazy.” And proceeded to go into a more tame suspense mode.
Taylor Hanks, playing our pregnant protagonist, does a decent enough job, but the script does her no favors. Her character makes choices that range from frustrating to outright baffling. Meanwhile, the little girl who enters the story spends most of the movie looking like she just realized she’s in a film, which is… a choice.
The movie does have tension and moves at a brisk pace, but that doesn’t mean it’s good. It’s the kind of film that keeps you watching, not because you’re enthralled, but because you keep hoping it’ll turn into the movie it could have been. Instead, it keeps delivering moments that make you yell at your screen, “Are you serious?” (spoilers following the trailer below)
Spoiler Territory: The Stupidity of It All
A guy refuses to kill yet thinks casually removing someone’s eyes with a hunting knife and believes the person is surviving? Sure. Science is just a suggestion in this universe.
The villain is willing to let a mother and child die but, when handed a loaded gun at point-blank range, just… does nothing. Woman, what is your endgame!
The movie works so hard to convince you it’s a horrifying true crime story, only to abandon that for a straight-up kidnapping. Did we forget the horror tag?
The killer? The other victims, wait, how? Didn’t he/she succeed in the very beginning? I’m done.
Would Womb resonate more with mothers? Maybe. Would it resonate with anyone who appreciates coherent writing? Probably not.
Not an abundance of streaming options out there, but here is what Justwatch has right now.
My initial rating might be generous after thinking this through next day. What is your opinion? (jump in with stars or comments to discuss)