Main cast: Ilana Glazer (Lucia Martin), Justin Theroux (Adrian Martin), Gretchen Mol (Nurse Dawn), Sophia Bush (Corgan), Zainab Jah (Grace Singleton), and Pierce Brosnan (Dr John Hindle)
Director: John Lee
I’m not sure whether I’d agree that False Positive is a horror film, as I’d consider this more of a psychological thriller. I’m also tad bewildered by the premise. Are there actual people out there that consider fertility treatments to be the work of the devil? Oh, I know some religious folks believe that the only acceptable conception is via hump and grind, but for everyone else, fertility treatment may be an option for folks that want to be parents but can’t due to reasons such as age, low egg production, dodgy sperm count, et cetera. Is such a notion scary though? I suppose it’s possible, some people may imagine that their fertility specialist will secretly use the seed of the devil on them or something.
Lucia Martin and her husband Adrian have problems conceiving, so Adrian recommends a visit to his former teacher, Dr John Hindle, who is also one of the top fertility specialists in the country. Lucy is reluctant at first since, as she tells Adrian, she wants “it” to be “natural”. I’ve heard of folks wanting natural childbirth, but I don’t really come across people that want “natural conception”, so this is a today-I-learn moment for me.
At any rate, she eventually agrees and ooh, she’s pregnant with a daughter and a pair of twin boys. She and Adrian agree that they’d keep the girl and have Dr Hindle perform a selection reduction on the twin fetuses. That’s when her trouble starts. Her pregnancy is fraught with complications, and worse, she starts to suspect that something is afoot. John and her husband seem to be plotting something… are they trying to do something funny to the girl she is carrying?
Well, the plot sounds like Rosemary’s Baby, but it’s hard to say whether there really is a conspiracy or Lucy is undergoing psychosis during her pregnancy and postpartum psychosis. As the movie progresses, she will reveal that she has deep-seated issues stemming from the death of her mother just two years prior. Let’s just say that she isn’t emotionally stable, and hormonal changes caused by a pregnancy will no doubt send her over the edge. Hence, what is real and what isn’t?
The ending scene, to me, cements that Lucy likely imagines everything inside her head, and hence, she is likely going to be dragged to court and then for a psychiatric evaluation shortly after this movie has ended.
Anyway, False Positive doesn’t really have much scares, and I also am not sure what exactly it wants to do here. Is it trying to depict depression and psychosis that can occur during pregnancy? If so, maybe it could have done better if the protagonist had been more sympathetic. It’s hard for me to empathize with Lucy, who already has bewildering hang-ups about “natural” conception and is quick to reject medical treatments in favor of woo-woo stuff because of feels instead. Hey, I have nothing against woo-woo stuff, it’s just that I can respect Lucy’s decision more if she had done her research and decided that woo-woo stuff is the best option for her, instead of just going by her feels.
In the end, this is a watchable film, in a way, but I have no idea what it is trying to say and why anyone would even want to watch this thing. Too many scenes here seem to be red herrings that end up just padding things unnecessarily, and even what could have been a memorable scene of Dr Hinton getting an, uh, oral act of kindness from Adrian is botched because of the bizarre choreography that suggests that, based on where Adrian is bopping his head, Dr Hinton’s pee-pee extends way past his waistline. Yeah, that is likely, snort.
Oh, and before I forget, due to the subject matter, folks that are not keen on scenes linked to heavy bleeding during pregnancy, miscarriages, et cetera may want to skip this one. For everyone else, well, I’m sure there are other more interesting movies to watch out there.
