Reborn: Mothers & Daughters, Thunder & Lightning

The foundling discovering their true legacy is a triumphant staple of Victorian literature, but it will not work out that way for Tess Stern. For one thing, her mother did not voluntarily abandon her. B-movie actress Lena O’Neill was told her daughter was stillborn. Yet, somehow Stern survived and developed the scary power to control electricity in Julian Richards’ Reborn, which releases today on DVD.

Creepy morgue attendant Ken Stern discovered Tess was still living, even though O’Neill’s callous doctor had cast her aside like rubbish. He brought her home for his mother to raise—and for him to abuse. Somehow, he figured out her uncanny abilities and fashioned her with an inhibitor, but when she slips out, all heck breaks loose. It is a bit problematic screenwriter Michael Mahin makes such a scummy character hearing-impaired, but it provides a handy method for Tess to dispense payback.

Nearly twenty years later, O’Neill is still grieving the daughter she never properly mourned. Prompted by her shrink, she sets out to find her body for closure, only to discover the hospital cannot properly account for it. Meanwhile, Stern starts looking for her too. As their paths start to cross, Stern meets several people who have done wrong towards her mother, but she is much less forgiving. However, the method of their deaths rather baffles Det. Marc Fox, who is also a bit of a casual O’Neill fan.

The basic premise of Reborn is pretty standard stuff, but it is elevated by some nifty performances from genre veterans. Barbara Crampton is absolutely terrific as O’Neill, especially in scenes where we see her channeling her emotions into her craft. She also has some subtly turned chemistry with Michael Paré, who makes Fox a surprisingly thoughtful and mature figure, in what could be his best screen performance in years. As a cool bonus, Monte Markham brings commanding genre authority as O’Neill’s analyst, Dr. Hetch.

The Rift: Dark Side of the Moon

Rather refreshingly, this film presents a different kind of moon landing conspiracy theory. We went up there and back, sure enough. NASA just tacked on a few extra Apollo missions they never told us about. It turns out, one of those missions was unusually significant in a supernaturally cosmic kind of way. Years later, a Serbian-American CIA agent will investigate the consequences in Dejan Zecevic’s The Rift: Dark Side of the Moon (trailer here), which releases today on VOD.

Liz Waid was a hacker who “volunteered” to serve her country after getting caught, but she has been on inactive bereavement leave for several months after the death of her son. Nobody is really eager to reactivate her for this mission, but she will be working with veteran lone wolf John Francis Smith (his real name), who always gets the job done.

Supposedly, they are recovering a fallen satellite, but the presence of Dysart, a terminally ill astronaut does not make sense for such a routine mission. They are not thrilled to have Darko, a Serbian military liaison also tagging along, but those are the rules. Of course, all their assumptions go out the window when the satellite they thought they were tracking turns out to be someone or something wearing the spacesuit of a fellow astronaut who disappeared during Dysart’s fateful mission.

The English-language Rift has been billed as Serbia’s first science fiction film, but it could easily crossover into horror sections. For instance, there are zombies, but they are definitely dead-who-rise, in the Book of Revelations tradition. Regardless, people just do not seem to stay dead in this remote corner of Eastern Serbia. It also subtly recalls hints of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, which referenced astronauts in space and was set in the same world as The Ninth Configuration. Of course, that rift in the space-time continuum is pure sf (whereas the spooky isolated farmhouse setting takes us back to horror).

Rift is messy and eccentric, but its ambition is impressive. It also has a serious ace-in-the-hole in its star and co-producer Ken Foree, whose very presence makes it of interest to horror fans. It is thoroughly entertaining to watch him do his hardnosed thing—and he looks like he has hardly aged a day since Brian Yuzna’s The Dentist. For extra added nostalgia, Monte Markham plays Dysart, investing him with tragic dignity. As Waid, Katarina Cas holds her own with the genre veterans, while Dragan Micanovic gives expendable Darko more energy and dimension than you would expect. Plus, Mick Garris appears briefly as Waid’s editor for her journalist cover-gig.

The conclusion of Rift doesn’t make a lick of sense whatsoever, but that is how it goes with genre cinema. The soundtrack also sounds like a transparent attempt to copy the vibe of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side album. Yet, Rift is still weirdly compelling. Despite its rough edges, it is exactly the kind of film experienced cult film patrons will want to revisit over time. Recommended for Foree fans and those who appreciate offbeat category straddlers, Rift: The Dark Side of the Moon is now available on VOD platforms.