First Born: A dark tale of a child who attracts entities. Even when Charlie (Antonia Thomas) is pregnant, scratches appear on her body. When Thea is born strange things happen, swings and a seesaw move by themselves. Back home poltergeist effects occur, Charlie is thrown across the room and choked by an entity. Writing appears on the wall. Her partner James (Luke Norris) is estranged from his occultist father Alistair (Jonathan Hyde) but gets him to perform a Ritual to protect Thea, this Ritual has to be repeated every day. Six years later the entities return to threaten not just Thea (Thea Petrie) but Charlie and James. Another more powerful occultist, Elizabeth (Eileen Davies) has to be brought on. The entities are seen as dark shadowy creatures at first but become more visible as monsters later. Dim lighting mixed with flashes and frenetic editing is perhaps overdone. Thea is portrayed as a magnet for supernatural creatures and puts in an amazing performance for a six year old. The way the Rituals are carried out is convincing with great attention to detail. The low budget is all too obvious at times and while First Born is flawed, it's worth watching. Directed by Nirpal Bhogal, Co-Written by Bhogal and Sean Hogan. Showing again on the Horror Channel on Sunday 11th October - 12.35 AM. 6.5/10.
