FIRSTBORN, more than anything else, is mostly just a depiction of a particular kind of "reality". In the reality of FIRSTBORN, there are invisible paranormal entities all around us of which we are mostly not aware. A few individuals are born just naturally irresistibly attractive to these paranormal entities, many of which are actively hostile and dangerous, and if your new baby happens to be one of these attractive nuisance types, well, then, raising baby is even more troublesome than you would expect. The tendency to draw unwanted supernatural entities is just another genetically inherited characteristic that tends to run in families, like red hair, freckles and buck teeth.
In FIRSTBORN, life with one of these paranormally attractive children is all about learning all the special mystical rules and rituals one must continually observe to keep your child, and yourself, safe. The real risk, however, is that the entities attracted by the paranormally charged baby will seriously harm other family members once there. Melted wax rituals, daily renewed salt barricades at entry points, and so on, are a must to keep everyone safe. Once attracted by the problem child, any dolls or other objects with a face on them are entry points through which dangerous entities, attracted by the baby, can enter our realm.
Broken down, FIRSTBORN is nothing more than a mundane story of what it's like when irresponsible parents (and we established their basic intrinsic irresponsibility at the beginning of the movie) are tasked with the tough responsibilities of raising a problem child with, you know, monster rash. There are even some scenes where grandpa relates the tips and tricks of how to cope with the colicky,*ahem* I mean supernaturally afflicted, child. Oh, and how to change diapers, too.
If you took the exact same story and simply exchange the child's problem from "attracting bothersome supernatural entities" to "violent autism", little would change. FIRSTBORN is just the difficulties of unprepared parents raising a difficult child with supernatural entities sprinkled on top. Ta Da!
The End.
The foregoing truths established, it isn't a bad movie. The acting is satisfactory and perhaps a little above average, the visuals for the paranormal entities are passable if not inspired or original. If you like horror stories and have a reasonably low bar of entertainment in your tastes, it's worth a watch.
The only unarguably negative element about the movie is that, being obviously low-budget, and not being able to spend too much on the special-effects for the entities, there's a lot of ridiculous shaky- cam, goofy close up and distorted angles, and similar such "camera techniques" employed to try to keep the entities looking frightening and mysterious. By fiddling with the camera continuously so you don't get a good look at the monsters, the director hoped to keep your fear and interest up. It doesn't really work because it never does and is virtually the trademark of such movies as this.
In FIRSTBORN, life with one of these paranormally attractive children is all about learning all the special mystical rules and rituals one must continually observe to keep your child, and yourself, safe. The real risk, however, is that the entities attracted by the paranormally charged baby will seriously harm other family members once there. Melted wax rituals, daily renewed salt barricades at entry points, and so on, are a must to keep everyone safe. Once attracted by the problem child, any dolls or other objects with a face on them are entry points through which dangerous entities, attracted by the baby, can enter our realm.
Broken down, FIRSTBORN is nothing more than a mundane story of what it's like when irresponsible parents (and we established their basic intrinsic irresponsibility at the beginning of the movie) are tasked with the tough responsibilities of raising a problem child with, you know, monster rash. There are even some scenes where grandpa relates the tips and tricks of how to cope with the colicky,*ahem* I mean supernaturally afflicted, child. Oh, and how to change diapers, too.
If you took the exact same story and simply exchange the child's problem from "attracting bothersome supernatural entities" to "violent autism", little would change. FIRSTBORN is just the difficulties of unprepared parents raising a difficult child with supernatural entities sprinkled on top. Ta Da!
The End.
The foregoing truths established, it isn't a bad movie. The acting is satisfactory and perhaps a little above average, the visuals for the paranormal entities are passable if not inspired or original. If you like horror stories and have a reasonably low bar of entertainment in your tastes, it's worth a watch.
The only unarguably negative element about the movie is that, being obviously low-budget, and not being able to spend too much on the special-effects for the entities, there's a lot of ridiculous shaky- cam, goofy close up and distorted angles, and similar such "camera techniques" employed to try to keep the entities looking frightening and mysterious. By fiddling with the camera continuously so you don't get a good look at the monsters, the director hoped to keep your fear and interest up. It doesn't really work because it never does and is virtually the trademark of such movies as this.