Horror Film (2020) Review #10

Vivarium is Latin for “place of life”–by definition it is an enclosed structure or container for keeping animals under semi-natural conditions for observation, to study, or as pets. An example is an aquarium or terrarium (recreated habitat at the zoo).  Written by Lorcan Finnegan and Garret Shanley, and is revamped extension of their short film ‘Foxes’. The film was directed Lorcan Finnegan and could easily be described as feature length version of a twilight zone or black mirror episode. Partly inspired by the ghost estates of Ireland, and the housing crisis, Vivarium is described as a fever dream turned horror. For a person entering adulthood circling the fears of buying a home, raising a child, and having a committed relationship, by warping those life transitions.

The Premise: A couple played by Imogen Poots (Gemma) a school teacher, and Jesse Eisenberg (Tom) a gardener, are financially conservative but decide to window shop for a house.  They meet Martin played by Jonathan Aris, an attentive yet a skewed personality who pitches them a home in a community called Yonder.  Martin gives a tour of this home in a distant community; that appears identical to every other house on the lot, as they are shown the backyard Martin disappears and drives off. The couple becomes stranded in the neighborhood as the road always seems to lead them back to the same house.  There is a very strong hint of the nature of this movie at the beginning when Gemma approaches a student after class and spots two dead baby chicks. We see in the opening credits a cuckoo bird, and learn that a Cuckoo sneaks their egg into another bird’s nest while the parents are not around, their egg hatches before other birds so their chick can push out the competition before the parents arrive, they can mimic the sounds of the parents giving the impression that they are the original offspring and can be feed and nurtured by the fooled parents,while the parental cuckoo birds can fly away worry free.  Tom and Gemma are given a baby boy delivered in a box and according to the description on the box if they raise the boy they will be released.

The trailer gives the impression of a psychological thriller, and comedy. It is not really a comedy nor does it function as a black comedy.  The true thrill comes in the final act when what is beneath the exterior is pulled back.  The rules of this community’s universe are undefined, Tom and Gemma are stuck in this haunted urban area, but the only thing creepy is the boy. As he ages at an unnatural rate and like the cuckoo bird he can imitate their voices and mannerisms.  Something malevolent begins to be sensed as the second act draws to an end, and the physics of their reality turn to that of a Beetlejuice movie.