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Don’t let the ’80s vibe to the poster fool you (just look at that gorgeous font below), The Perished is very much set in the modern-day. Not that you could tell, with the archaic opinions on abortion and ‘having children out of wedlock’ being such a prevalent part of the plot.
While it might not be the goretastic, no-brainer start to a horror flick you’d expect, the fact of the trouble and real-life horror an insane amount of girls from the Republic of Ireland went through – traveling to other countries for abortions, living in awful mother and baby homes – is a sobering message and introduction to the film. This message ends with a gut-wrenching tale: in 2014, the remains of over 800 babies – aged from newborn to three-years-old – were found in the septic tank of a mother and baby home in the town of Tuam, Ireland.
Directed by Paddy Murphy, The Perished focuses on Sarah (Courtney McKeon), a college student with a caring father and a bossy, and extremely religious, mother. Sarah’s been seeing Shane (Fiach Kunz, Game of Thrones) for a little while, and despite ‘being careful’, she’s found herself in a hugely undesirable situation. But Shane breaks up with her before she can tell him the news, and Sarah’s mother, Elaine (Noelle Clarke), finds out about her pregnancy and boots her out of the family home. Sarah is on her own at a time she most needs her family’s support, and it gets you right in the feels.
Away she goes for ‘the procedure’ – this overly clinical phrasing of abortion reoccurs throughout the film, emphasizing just how taboo the whole thing is – and returning to Ireland she stays with her gay best friend Davet (Paul Fitzgerald) in his parents’ house in the country. And that’s when things turn from the almost soap opera plot we’ve seen so far, to nightmarish scenes that distract you from the morality of pro-choice/pro-life because you’re too busy dealing with the tension that’s taking over every inch of your body.
As it turns out, Sarah’s safe-house used to be a mother and baby home and is haunted by all the babies that perished on its grounds. Murphy hasn’t made a generic ghostly haunted house tale, though. Oh no, what we have here are GIANT DEMON BABIES. And they just want a mother. Hearing the cry of babies and the voice of her aggressively disappointed mother, Sarah’s side-effects from ‘the procedure’ go to the extreme, as every episode of hearing voices or the many other weird things happening in the house, is followed by Sarah bleeding heavily. It’s hard to watch, as any female seeing this will sympathize with her, and let’s face it, any male watching is either cringing or fighting the urge to puke.
Murphy has made a clever, multi-layered movie here. Sarah’s story is the same as that of thousands of women and girls, throughout history for centuries. It looks at the argument from so many level-headed stand-points – Shane being annoyed Sarah didn’t discuss it with him, Shane’s sister Rebecca’s heartbreaking miscarriage when she so desperately wants a child – removing the religious aspect almost entirely after Elaine’s outburst, because that isn’t what’s important here. It feels very real, except for the GIANT DEMON BABIES, but even they provide a great metaphor for the horrendous struggles women face regarding unplanned pregnancy, not just in Ireland, but all over the world.
The characters are all very believable, and Courtney McKeon portrays the young-woman whose life just got turned upside down (and then some) to a tee. The special effects are done well for a low budget film, with a Clive Barker/John Carpenter feel (so, there is an ’80s element other than the poster) to the main demon baby. That Murphy achieved this on a shoe-string is a great accomplishment, and it makes me intrigued to see what the director could do with a bigger budget.
Related Article: Universal to Bring New Theatrical Releases to VOD
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March 17, 2020 at 10:13PM
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Review: 'The Perished' isn't Your Typical Haunted House Flick - Horror Geek Life
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