The Fetus (2025) Review

The Fetus (2025) Review

A delightfully demonic descent into madness. Starring Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses) and Lauren LaVera (Terrifier 2, Terrifier 3), this dark comedy horror gives parental anxiety a terrifying new twist. Written and directed by Joe Lam in his feature debut, this gore-soaked tale of a cursed pregnancy blends the dread of Rosemary’s Baby with the dark humour of Prevenge.

Alessa (LaVera) finds herself trapped in a pregnancy that defies medical science. She and her boyfriend Chris (Julian Curtis) realise their only hope is to seek help from her estranged father, Maddox (Moseley). But all hell breaks loose when they discover the foetus is a bloodthirsty, satanic entity.

Written and directed by Joe Lam in his feature-length debut following a career in short filmmaking, The Fetus is a low-budget horror effort that wears its practical-effects influences proudly. For viewers who grew up on the creature features and body horror of the 1980s, the film’s commitment to practical effects is a welcome departure from the overreliance on CGI that often dominates contemporary genre cinema. Indeed, the effects work is arguably the film’s strongest asset and goes some way towards generating goodwill.

Unfortunately, there is considerably less substance beneath the surface. While the premise offers potential, the narrative struggles to sustain momentum, and much of the film feels stretched beyond its natural limits. Conversations frequently circle back on themselves, with characters revisiting the same arguments and dilemmas to diminishing effect. The dialogue can also be frustratingly blunt at times, with lines that state the obvious rather than reveal character or advance the story.

The plot centres primarily on three characters: Maddox (Bill Moseley), a blind Vietnam veteran haunted by PTSD; his daughter Alessa (Lauren LaVera); and Chris (Julian Curtis), the father of Alessa’s unborn child. Supporting characters largely exist to serve the film’s body count, leaving the emotional and narrative burden to rest on this central trio.

The titular creature draws heavily from familiar horror touchstones. Its appearance and shrill vocalisations evoke the iconic chestburster from Alien, while its mischievous, parasitic behaviour recalls the creature from the 2013 horror-comedy Bad Milo! Even the demon’s voice and mannerisms seem indebted to the Evil Dead franchise, with one sequence directly echoing Evil Dead II through the unsettling recitation of “Hush Little Baby.”

Much of the film consists of the protagonists attempting to negotiate with a demon that has already demonstrated its inability—or unwillingness—to honour any bargain. As a result, scenes often feel repetitive, with the characters cycling through the same disputes, accusations and doomed attempts at compromise. The lack of escalation robs the story of tension, and despite moments of effective creature work, the drama rarely achieves the sense of dread or urgency it requires.

By the time the extended finale arrives, The Fetus has largely exhausted its ideas. What begins as a potentially intriguing supernatural horror gradually loses momentum, becoming trapped in repetitive exchanges between its characters and their demonic tormentor. One cannot help but feel that the material might have been more effective in a shorter format, playing to the strengths that Lam demonstrated in his earlier short films. While the practical effects deserve praise and will undoubtedly appeal to old-school horror fans, the film ultimately lacks the narrative depth and sustained suspense needed to fully realise its potential.

On UK digital 6 July from Miracle Media