By GABE THOMAS
Jake Byrd’s newest psychological horror picture ADALYNN is the latest in a long line of motherhood-focused thrillers. Spanning from the classic anxiety-ridden terror of ROSEMARY’S BABY to the grief-stricken BABADOOK, Byrd’s film weaves a decently convincing tale of postpartum depression.
At its core, ADALYNN tells the story of the titular character (portrayed by Sydney Carvill) experiencing intense fits of anxiety and paranoia after the birth of her first child. Adalynn suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. She is filled with the need for her house to be perfect, reorganizing and locking the doors repeatedly before bed each night.
Her husband (Wade Baker) is away at a conference, and she struggles with being alone in the house with a new baby. Past trauma and her newly unmedicated state lead her to believe that she is going insane, portrayed through trippy visuals and classic horror movie subversions.
The biggest struggle ADALYNN faces is its need to prove itself against higher-profile movies with similar subject matter. Single-location films with a character slowly being driven insane is nothing new, but luckily for his audience, Byrd has a few tricks up his sleeve.
Armed with many images of intense violence towards a newborn baby that shock and startle as soon as they emerge, a slew of other visual tricks are at work here. A cinematographic style obsessed with cut-ins and close-ups allows for camerawork as obsessive and particular as the protagonist. We become keenly familiar with Adalynn’s surroundings and feel as puzzled as she does when reality starts to distort.
What ADALYNN packs in visual style, it lacks in clear story structure. As the twists begin mounting, the audience is overwhelmed with a keen sense of narrative frustration instead of deliberate confusion. It becomes difficult to parse what events take place in our main character’s head and what is merely a delusion. This trick has done wonders in Mulholland Drive and Shutter Island, but those stories had the luxury of being helmed by two of the Earth’s greatest filmmakers. ADALYNN does not lack competency, but it does tend to come across as overly ambitious.
The film’s greatest technical flaw is obvious: a bizarre use of music and narration. Screeching violins drown out the sound mix in several horror sequences, serving as a distraction instead of an addition to the atmosphere. Songs explaining all-too literally what emotions the characters are feeling rear their ugly heads in certain moments. Voice-over is used as a crutch, with moments of internal monologue creating the illusion we are listening to an audiobook instead of enjoying a movie.
All in all, ADALYNN is an easy psychological thriller to invest yourself in. A willingness to comment on mental health and the effects of childbirth creates a compellingly realistic set of stakes. There are leaps in logic as it draws to a conclusion, but there are plenty of exciting twists and turns to be found in this demented little feature.
On Digital, DVD & On-Demand as of March 28, 2023 from Summer Hill Films.
