A young couple, Tom (Jessie Eisenberg) and Gemma (Imogen Poots) are looking to buy a house. An eccentric estate agent shows them round a new build on an oddly deserted suburban estate. Whilst there, he disappears and when they try to leave they find there is no way off the estate. Shortly afterwards, a baby is left outside of their house. It is a boy but as he grows up much quicker than is natural, he is clearly not human…
This is an excellent set-up for a psychological horror movie, and with Eisenberg and Poots impressing, it has a creepy atmosphere almost from the start. However, weaknesses start to appear after the set-up. The descent into madness feels like it happens too quickly, whilst they tolerate (and even look after!) the creepy child when I would have rammed a pick axe in his head when it became clear he was evil!
But like many a ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ or ‘Twilight Zone’ episode, the resolution does not live up to the build-up Having said that, the sheer strangeness of the situation kept me engaged and the cyclical nature of the story was intriguing.
Always intended to be premiered on streaming services, ‘Vivarium’ may now get more attention than it would otherwise have.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10