A Mother’s Perfection, A Daughter’s Rebellion
In Finnish horror cinema, Hatching (original title Pahanhautoja) was Bergholm’s debut. It was released in 2022 and centers on a 12-year-old Tinja, a gymnast, and her overbearing, perfectionist mother, a former figure skater and influencer. Things take interesting turns when Tinja finds a strange egg in the woods. She takes care of the egg, and after a while, it hatches into a grotesque, bird-like creature named Alli. As Alli matures, it becomes a monstrous extension of Tinja’s rage and sets off a chain of horrifying episodes that mixes reality with a terrible nightmare and transforms her life for the worse.
The Creature That Stole the Spotlight
Hatching’s standout feature is the creature. Designed by animatronics artist Gustav Hoegen, who worked on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Alli was created with a mix of animatronics and puppetry. The creature’s design is both grotesque and fascinating, and serves as a powerful metaphor for the protagonist’s turmoil. Hoegen’s team, who created the animatronic puppets, had the challenging task of designing a creature that could interact with the human actors while preserving the eerie atmosphere of the film.
Siiri Solalinna: From Innocence to Horror
Solalinna’s Tinja is tender and terrifying all at once. As the film’s main character, she balances the emotional complexity of being a young girl trying to win her mother’s approval, to being a survivor facing horrific truths. Given her age, the level of emotional depth she conveys is stellar for a performer of any age and it is this emotional depth that anchors the horror components of the film.
Prior to filming, Solalinna and Bergholm had character-psychology conversations that undoubtedly influenced Solalinna’s understanding of Tinja. Her character and mother/ daughter relationship, as well as the mother- daughter dyad’s symbolic relationship with Alli, were of central importance to the film’s narrative, so Solalinna’s understanding Tinja’s layered character was a crucial step in the preparation process and development from which she sustained her performance.
Behind the Camera: Challenges and Triumphs
For the film Hatching, there were also issues that arose from trying to film the surreal, grotesque components of the story. The production team trying to film the scenes with the animatronic creatures had not only to solve safety and realism issues, but also to provide safety and realism in the device’s animation. Practical effects were so crucial to the director, that she bypassed CGI and used animatronics to preserve the horror realism in the film.
The film’s first setting, a pristine Finnish home, contrasts with the disturbing circumstances contained in the home, illustrating the theme hidden horrors in and around the suburb. This powerful contrast arose from set design and cinematography, which was pivotal in creating the hurtful feeling of the film.
Audience Reviews and Praise
On its release in Sundance Film Festival in January 2022, Hatching was recognized for imaginative combining of genre and for the originality of the story and performance of the actors. The audience described the film as creative in combining horror with thoughtful narrative centered around the cultural expectations on motherhood.
The emotional resonance and coalescing originality of the film on genre was the center of audience appreciation. The fantasy of the creature and disturbing portrayal of cinematography incited horror genre enthusiasts, which contributed to Hatching’s cult status.
The Legacy of Hatching
Hatching is a great example of how effective practical effects and positive character development can be used in a horror film. Because of Hatching’s success, more international horror films can be seen and appreciated for their artistry. Director Hanna Bergholm, along with the rest of the cast and crew, was able to create something powerful that opened the door for filmmakers to explore and capture more complex emotions through horror.
All of this said, Hatching is more than horror; it’s a deep, profound examination of the human condition that delves into repression, identity, and the effects of how society can place restrictions on an individual. The creature design is a wonder to behold and the film’s story is hugely innovative and serves to separate the film from the rest of the films in the horror genre.