Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival

Review of "Reborn" by The Headless Critic

Reborn – 2019

Production by: New Normal Productions



Abandoned after birth a stillborn baby girl is brought back to life by electrokinectic powers and taken home by the morgue attendant Ken Stern (Chaz Bono). Held captive since birth on her sixteenth birthday Tess Stern (Kayleigh Gilbert) looks to the man who’s kept her in chains her entire life for answers to who her mother really is in hopes she'll understand the electrokinetic power she still possesses.

Sixteen years ago rising actress Lena O’Neill (Barbara Crampton) lost her only child in an unplanned pregnancy when the baby was stillborn, taken away from her by doctors before she even saw it. At the urging of her agent Dory Rider (Rae Dawn Chong) to save her fledgling acting career Lena turns to Dr. Hetch (Monte Markham) for closure to the child she lost. When the hospital can’t provide a burial plot for the child she lost so long ago Lena finds solace in a new girl Tess in her acting class that she feels motherly towards. A lineage of dead bodies behind Tess brings Det. Fox (Michael Paré) questioning the motives of the newest addition to the famous Lena O’Neill’s acting class.

The star value cast gives wonderful performances in a layered script from first time feature writer Michael Mahin. Longtime director Julian Richards whose movies date back to the 80’s and 90’s fills Reborn with a cast of underutilized and talented actors who rose to fame in the same time period where he started. Barbara Crampton is absolutely fabulous in her role of a once famous actress traumatized by her past and on the downside of her career. Chaz Bono also really impresses as a likable morgue technician that you cringe at hating when it turns out his character isn’t so likable.


The most horrific part of the film is a young girl held captive since birth. He time there and the relationship with her captor isn’t explored nearly enough being an ends to justify the means that’s too quickly glanced over instead of looking into the world of horrors she endured growing up. The character Tess herself is also portrayed in the story as very one dimensional. A girl held captive since birth is given a natural sympathy but with no great turn of character it’s difficult to continue sympathizing with someone who shows no signs of remorse. A predictable and quick ending make a promising feature go up in CGI sparks, missing the mark, feeling more like a good Lifetime movie of the week instead of the dark horror feature it could have been.

Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival


3 out of 5 Headless Critics