Movie Review: BIRTHRITE

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: August 8th, 2025 / 08:25 PM

BIRTHRITE movie poster | ©2025 Brainstorm Media

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Alice Kremelberg, Juani Feliz, Jennifer LaFleur, Henny Russell, Owen Campbell, Michael Chernus
Writers: Patch Darragh & Erin Gann
Director: Ross Partridge
Distributor: Brainstorm Media
Release Date: August 8, 2025 (theatrical, VOD)

BIRTHRITE has a satisfyingly creepy atmosphere, but the way it doles out its mythology is problematic, as is its character logic.

The film begins with a small fire in the woods at night. A cloaked figure wearing horns hands something to another hooded person, who runs away with the gift.

Then it’s daylight. Wren Collins (Alice Kremelberg) is astonished to learn that not only did she have an aunt whom her late mother never mentioned, but said aunt has left her a mansion in a small town.

Wren and her partner Maya (Juani Feliz) live in New York City. However, Wren is pregnant and would really like to leave the intensity of urban life. Maya is reluctant but ultimately agrees to move into the inherited house.

Aunt Birgit – “Birdie” to her friends – founded the town’s obstetrics clinic, which is now run by her protégé Rosalie (Jennifer LaFleur). Rosalie performs an ultrasound, confirming that Wren is in her second trimester, carrying a healthy male child.

A series of strange events begins. Wren has an ultra-realistic nightmare and then a mysterious medical emergency.

Although this is fairly early on in BIRTHRITE, it is where some viewers will begin to wonder about the way our heroines are behaving. In the circumstances, most people would bring in their consulting obstetrician, get another medical opinion, or both. Instead, Wren and Maya have plenty of questions, but don’t seek conventional answers.

As Wren learns more about her aunt and the town’s history, the situation gradually becomes more fraught.

Director Ross Partridge displays a keen eye for striking imagery – there’s a shot at a wedding that could be a poster – as well as good use of shadows and subtle background movement. Kremelberg and Feliz both deliver emotionally committed, nuanced performances.

But the screenplay by Patch Darragh & Erin Gann repeatedly favors effect over rationale. Motivation and behavior in a number of characters is unconvincing. Also, without getting into spoilers, it can be said that, when we learn some key points, it seems like a lot more people in town ought to be a lot more worked up about something that happened a while back.

Additionally (a warning for those who get angry about this sort of thing), this is another movie that treats the death of a pet as especially distressing property damage, rather than the loss of a beloved living being. This doesn’t have major impact overall, but it’s indicative of how normal sentiments are downplayed here if they don’t serve to get Person A from Point B to Point C.

BIRTHRITE is properly spooky and occult. It is constructed in a way that suggests it has a visible throughline for its makers, but they don’t always make that vision clear for the audience.

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