Postnatal depression affects 1 in 7 mothers and the symptoms can seem as they are from a horror film. We plan to bring conversation to the psychological effect of PND in our short film ‘Afterbirth’ with a title reflecting gorey visual imagery and also what occurs after birth

Jess is a mother that is depressed, exhausted and keeps to herself. Her battle with postnatal depression is represented through the satanic and restless baby Mia. She desires to be normal mother with a normal baby but she’s scared to tell her friends about her struggles. Due to the lack of awareness around postnatal depression, the people around Jess don’t believe her when she opens up and just think she is crazy. She also wants her husband to help her and have people to notice her and not just the baby.

This short film is a psychological thriller. In order to achieve this, there is a clear contrast between what the mother is seeing and what those around her see through things such as lighting and audio cues. The film takes inspiration from films such as Insidious, Hereditary, The Exorcist and The Babadook to influence the portrayal of mental health and also to influence the horror elements of our film.

The horror scenes between the mother and baby are the most thrilling as they provide the most visually and thematically engaging moments. Moreover, a lot of the film will spend a fair amount of time developing this mother’s horror experience and then the contrast with her external life.

The film hopes to provide a unique perspective by showing the journey through a mother that is isolated in her experiences and underlines the importance of support from family and friends.