When trying to find solace for a new beginning, a lesbian couple moves to a small, remote town in a house inherited from an estranged Aunt. The couple prepares to settle down and start a family, but soon face inexplicable challenges that set them back, ultimately stimulating traumatic stress both physically and mentally.

While embodying the clichés of the folk horror genre, Ross Partridge’s 2025 film Birthrite delivers a story that symbolizes the anxieties and pressures of pregnancy from a woman’s perspective. By touching on feelings of isolation, uncertainty, and grief through classic elements of mystery and folklore, the film encapsulates an experience that leaves viewers psychologically unsettled. 

The differences in the main couple, Wren and Maya (played by Alice Kremelberg and Juani Feliz), balance each other out. Kremelberg’s character Wren is faced with doubt and gaslighting, believing in a darker, supernatural force as the culprit of the couple’s stress. On the other hand, Feliz’s character, Maya, attempts to be a voice of reason, so much so that her actions become detrimental to their relationship. This dynamic affects the reality of the couple’s situation; by slowly breaking the trust between them, the difference in their mindset makes them more vulnerable to being preyed upon by the evil forces lurking beneath.

The film is cloudy and grey, setting up a mysterious tone that anticipates the darkness within the plot. Partridge uses this to his advantage as the environment carries the film’s eerie mystery. As a transition between scenes, the camera often reveals overhead shots of the small town or the house in which the horrors take place. The strategic use of these shots makes elements look small, almost doll-like. It is as if it captured a miniature model of the set rather than actual aerial drone shots. I can’t tell if this was purposeful, but this detail exaggerated the small-town setting (a key element in many folk horror films), and added a special touch that makes the film distinct. 

Though the mystery throughout the film is sure to keep viewers curious about what will happen next, the exposition of the film is heavy with little visual scenes to support the lore being told. The film does a good job of maintaining secrecy in this sense, but as a viewer, it comes off as slow and often confusing. It is not until the final act that the gore of the special effects captures the viewer’s attention. At this point, the motives of the dark and evil forces are clear, but at the cost of an hour’s worth of dialogue and a few cut scenes of suspense. The film does try to embed some horror scenes throughout the previous acts, but these moments feel useless in the moment without the context, and once the mystery is revealed, there is a sense of dissatisfaction. 

2 out of 5 stars

Birthright (2025)  by Ross Partridge is a solid attempt at an American folk horror film, but it does not present anything new to the genre. Its formula has the ingredients for a folk horror film, but the contents are diminished through stretched-out exposition and suspense that feels like fluff.