the good news is that you can find this title with audio description. the bad news, is despite this being a Shudder release, and on AMC Plus, you won’t find it there. If I was going to wait this long to see Birth/Rebirth, I decided I’d rent the damn thing and make sure I got the audio description. It helps that I’m a voting member for the Spirit Awards and this is in consideration. However, I didn’t use the non-audio described screener offered to me. I knew too many people who kept swearing this was the best, or one of, horror titles of the year. And therein lies the problem.

Let’s go ahead and give credit to the team at Audio Eyes for their description. I remember the writer for this film, Ryan Brooks being so excited that his audio description was in a theatrical release. Or maybe it was the narrator, Kyle Snyder, but i think it was Brooks. Either way, this is some solid description, especially for some names I’m not familiar with. Debuts in description? Perhaps. The problem with Birth/Rebirth is that it markets itself as a horror title at all. From the early little press blurbs I thought this was some disgusting child Frankenstein movie, so i dodged it. Even the director opens on the most shocking scene they can. The beginning is a caesarean section, warning viewers there will be gore. Except, there really isn’t.

The movie is far more complex, and has a doctor who is literally trying to find the cure for death. Not really by assembling body parts, but by using, well… you will find out. She ends up with a young girl who dies rather quickly from an illness, and her mother just happens to be a nurse, who is determined to find out what happened with her daughter’s body. When she does find out, she stays. She knows what is happening, and she stays. That’s what is so compelling about this quasi-horror film is that it is at its very root incredibly human. Judy Reyes, who formerly was on Scrubs, really does stellar work here as a mother who is willing to do anything if it means holding her daughter again. It’s the most relatable thing, which is why Reyes is a Spirit award nominee. Honestly, if the Oscars took films like this seriously, there’s no reason she shouldn’t at least be getting batted around in the actress race. They don’t nominate films like this, or performances from films like this, but just even considering her more… really that’s the failing of journalists for not pushing her more. And, it’s hard to determine, a lot like She Said, who is the lead. Or, are both women leads? Reyes could feasibly be in Supporting just as easy, just like Carey Mulligan was for She Said.

it will unnerve people, sure. but I’m not big on squeamish shit either, and this dodges most of it. Once you get past where the “special sauce” comes from, it plays like a drama with some layers of suspense. It really is not a horror, and certainly should draw no Frankenstein comparisons. It’s a lot closer to a zombie movie than anything else, but no one eats brains, or humans, in this film.

If you can handle moderate horror, you’ll be fine here. The best thing is that it is basically void of jump scares, because that just is not the vibe. It is a very smart drama that is a character study more than anything, with some incredibly complicated baggage. It likely will provoke thought and conversation, and films are always their best when they can do that.

Unofficially, until I release my end of year lists, I’m pretty sure this is the best “horror” title of 2023. Sorry, Talk To Me fans. And the audio description allowed me to experience this, so I’m grateful.

Final Grade: A-