Hatching is a Finnish horror film that modernizes the European changeling story. The 2022 horror film was directed by Hanna Bergholm and written by Ilja Rautsi. The film incorporates psychological and body horror elements, doppelganger mythos, modern anxieties around social media, and the social pressure to have the “perfect” family and life, to the fairy changeling trope.
The film opens on an impressive note with foreshadowing, symbolism, and visual commentary that sets up the premise of the film. The family appears “perfect”. Mother, played by Sophia Heikkilä, is shooting a video for her ‘Mommy Blog’, and tags them as the “lovely life of a normal Finnish family.” Her idea of normal is a socially conservative one: nuclear family with blonde homemaker, tied-neck-sweater breadwinner, perfect-blonde-gymnast daughter, and ‘good ole boy’ son. Mother and daughter are in delicate white dresses, straining to appear casual despite their formalness. Father and son are clad in neutral khakis and collared shirts, obviously handpicked to be set pieces. Their living room is ‘magazine shoot’ immaculate, complete with sun windows, pastel colors, flower arrangements, Greek statue décor, and crystal furnishings. The “perfect” family presses their faces together on their “perfect” couch to document their “perfect” life.
Tinja opens the window after the video shoot. On cue, a raven flies in and begins destroying Mother’s perfect living room. The sequence culminates in the crystal chandelier, the centrepiece of the living room, crashing into the glass coffee table. The raven unceremoniously flies back out of the window, its ominous message complete. The movie continues in that thematic vein.
