---
title: "Nightborn: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/nightborn/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/nightborn"
critics_score: 64
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Nightborn (2026): what the critics said

Critics' score 64 from 7 reviews: 4 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative.

Most critics lean favourably on Bergholm’s follow-up to Hatching, though few are wholehearted about it. The praise clusters on Seidi Haarla, whose performance as Saga is described as raw, forceful and guttural by more than one reviewer, and on the film’s black-comic handling of its gore. Deadline also singles out the unsettling sound design and Rupert Grint’s patronising Jon, and several reviews find the folk horror grisly and oddly cathartic.

The reservations gather around the parenting metaphor, which several critics find repetitive, and around a folk-horror plot most consider predictable, with too few scares or laughs to carry it. The spread is wide. The Guardian is the clear outlier at the bottom, calling the film a disappointing retread of Hatching and finding the comedy unfunny, while Eye for Film goes furthest the other way, reading it as an angry, astute film about the dismissal of women’s testimony.

## IndieWire — David Ehrlich

Rating B-. 31 July 2026. 

Ehrlich finds the film an ambivalent, only partly successful study of maternal ambivalence, with too few scares or jokes. He praises Seidi Haarla’s raw, forceful performance as Saga.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/nightborn-review-shudder-horror-movie-1235207895/)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Jordan Mintzer

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 2026. Festival review. 

Mintzer finds the film fun and compelling, praising its dark comic touch and craft. He says its parenting metaphor becomes repetitive, though the humor and performances help keep it engaging.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/nightborn-review-finland-horror-1236500617/)

## Screen Daily — Nikki Baughan

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 2026. Festival review. 

The headline presents the film as an audacious motherhood-horror follow-up to Hatching. The accessible page provides no review text identifying a specific element praised or criticized.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/nightborn-review-hanna-bergholm-follows-hatching-with-audacious-motherhood-horror/5213868.article)

## Slant Magazine — Zach Lewis

Rating 2.5/4. 18 February 2026. Festival review. 

The review finds the film unpretentious and entertaining despite its predictable folk-horror story. It praises Seidi Haarla’s guttural performance and the comic timing of its gore.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/nightborn-review-rupert-grint/)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 15 February 2026. 

Bradshaw finds the film a disappointing retread of Bergholm’s Hatching, with clichéd paganism and unconvincing horror. He singles out Pirkko Saisio’s performance as the bright spot, while finding the black comedy unfunny.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/15/nightborn-review-rupert-grint-hanna-bergholm)

## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 29 July 2026. 

Kermode finds the film sensitive, astute, and refreshingly angry. She praises its craftsmanship and its challenge to the dismissal of women’s testimony.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/nightborn-2026-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

## Deadline — Damon Wise

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 18 February 2026. Festival review. 

Wise finds the folk horror strange, grisly and surprisingly cathartic, with genre fans likely to enjoy its misdirection. He especially praises the unsettling sound design and Rupert Grint’s portrayal of the patronizing Jon.

[Read the review](https://deadline.com/2026/02/nightborn-review-hanna-bergholm-ruper-grint-folk-horror-berlin-1236726760/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/nightborn.md