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Nightborn

Play trailer 1:47 Poster for Nightborn 2026 1h 32m Mystery & Thriller Horror Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
75% Tomatometer 55 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A dark fantasy happening over the course of one year. NIGHTBORN is a harrowing dive into a nightmare of motherhood and the painful side of motherly love.
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Nightborn

Nightborn

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Critics Consensus

Turning postpartum anxieties into a very real nightmare, this creepy and unsubtle horror movie gets its most lasting impact from Seidi Haarla's unnervingly raw star turn.

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Critics Reviews

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Jared Richards The Age (Australia) 6d
2/5
Haarla captures slipping sanity well, and Nightborn is refreshingly resistant to elevated horror’s insistence on metaphor. But it’s otherwise unremarkable. Go to Full Review
David Ehrlich IndieWire Jul 31
B-
Nightborn is ultimately less interested in framing motherhood as a horror movie than it is in exploring why people refuse to see it that way. Which isn’t to suggest that it’s not interested in framing motherhood as a horror movie. Go to Full Review
Peyton Robinson RogerEbert.com Jul 31
2.5/4
So while built on an excellent screenplay and grounded center, [it] falls victim to fatiguing its elements through overzealous, flustered execution. Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies 2d
2.5/5
There is a lack of subtlety and nuance that keeps us from connecting with the message in the way that Bergholm intends. It doesn’t fully derail “Nightborn”, but it’s a nagging issue that never goes away. Go to Full Review
Sara Clements Peliplat 2d
It’s another example of why horror is at its best when it tackles real horrors of the human experience. Go to Full Review
Hernán Ferreirós La Nación (Argentina) 3d
3/5
Nightborn is an amalgam of folk horror, body horror, and, yes, baby horror, in which the second half of each formula is somewhat pushed aside. There is not much fear, and there are few shocks. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Richard Y @ry5144 3d What a load of crap, the father and his family nor friends don't find it strange that a baby can grow so fast, drinks blood, eats raw meats, skin scorched by sunlight and cold iron, can even walk in a few months, and blame it all on the mother's inability to raise it like a normal baby! See more Travis T @Trillians 4d Nightborn is definitely a movie that will divide audiences, and I can understand why the reviews are so mixed. One of the biggest complaints is the constant crying baby. While it can be overwhelming, I think that's exactly the point. If the crying frustrates or exhausts you, then the film has accomplished what it set out to do. The director took a bold approach by using horror to explore postpartum depression and the emotional isolation many new mothers experience. The film captures the feeling of becoming invisible, unwanted, and emotionally drained while caring for a baby that constantly needs more from you. Whether or not every scene works, I appreciated the courage behind the concept. The acting was solid overall. There were a few moments where the baby looked noticeably fake , but it wasn't enough to ruin the movie. The execution isn't perfect, but the creativity and underlying message make Nightborn worth watching if you're open to a psychological horror film. See more Jon R @JuantheBaptist 5d Great acting from the lead actress. Very barbaric, movie had me hooked throughout but the ending was a heavy misstep for me, had me looking back on the movie and questioning too many things about why the mc was being gaslit so hard by everyone around her See more Lita S @RT05314939 6d I love a good horror and Rupert. However this was absolutely rubbish. Nobody listening to the mum about how odd the baby is, baby crying throughout good majority of the film. Rubbish storyline a lot of subtitles as movie not all in English. Rupert is better than this, See more Joanna W @JoannaW 6d Difficult watch at times because of insufferable crying that was way too much. I think I would have preferred if mother turned out to be in psychosis. See more Nicholas S @Smiddy1899 Aug 2 A very interesting movie and worth the watch See more Read all reviews
Nightborn

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Movie Info

Synopsis A dark fantasy happening over the course of one year. NIGHTBORN is a harrowing dive into a nightmare of motherhood and the painful side of motherly love.
Director
Hanna Bergholm
Producer
Daniel Kuitunen, Noémie Devide
Screenwriter
Hanna Bergholm, Ilja Rautsi
Distributor
Shudder
Production Co
Elokuvayhtiö Komeetta
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Horror, Drama
Original Language
Finnish
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 31, 2026
Runtime
1h 32m
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