Grace

A low-budget and rather repellent horror film that recycles the killer baby premise of Larry Cohen's old It's Alive series, Grace is about a literally bloodthirsty infant. Although told that she's carrying a lifeless fetus after being in a car crash that also claims the life of her husband, Madeline Matheson (Jordan Ladd) decides to bring the baby to term anyway—and is shocked when the infant is born alive. As Madeline grows increasingly aware of little Grace's special tastes, the situation is made worse by the intrusion of her grieving mother-in-law, a powerful woman who enlists the aid of a doctor to help her win custody of the child. Eventually, much blood is spilt as the bodies pile up. Writer-director Paul Solet and cinematographer Zoran Popovic exhibit considerable skill in effectively using meager resources to create a sense of dread (using the most innocuous of objects), and the unknown cast delivers intense (if not always convincing) performances. But Grace never overcomes the unsavory character of its basic plot, and even if it's intended as a very dark comedy, the humor here is exceptionally bleak. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by writer-director Paul Solet, producer Adam Green, and cinematographer Zoran Popovic), a “Delivered” making-of featurette (37 min.), a featurette on the Sundance premiere (9 min.), the production featurettes “Family” (12 min.), “Lullaby: Scoring Grace” (9 min.), “Conception” (7 min.), and “Her Mother's Eyes: The Look of Grace” (7 min.), as well as trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is an audio commentary by Solet and star Jordan Ladd. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)