Entertainment

'When The Bough Breaks' Is Terrifying

by Jenn Ficarra

In real life, it's not uncommon for couples who can't get pregnant on their own to use surrogates to carry their children, so it's only natural that pop culture reflect this. Plenty of TV shows and films have depicted surrogacy on-screen, yet one new movie takes it to the extreme. When the Bough Breaks, in theaters Sept. 9, features a surrogacy gone very wrong, and how scary When the Bough Breaks is will make audiences totally freak out.

Classified as a "psychological thriller," When the Bough Breaks looks like it's going to be pretty scary. The premise of the movie reminds me of similar psychological thrillers like Fatal Attraction, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and Obsessed (you know, the one with Queen Bey) and all of those were pretty terrifying. Not horrifying in the same way that a horror movie with ghosts or chainsaws is horrifying, but horrifying because, well, is anything scarier than a deranged, obsessed, delusional human you still have to be nice to because they're carrying your baby? Nope.

And it's all the scarier knowing that the movie is base in realism, and there are no supernatural elements at work here. The film, which stars Regina Hall and Morris Chestnut, is about a couple who cannot conceive on their own and decide to use a surrogate they meet through a service. And it all seems fine and lovely — until it's not. Regarding the film, star Regina Hall told Screenrant, "watching a movie is such an experience. You don’t have to go through the exact same thing but there are things you can imagine in your own life going that way. I know all men did during Fatal Attraction. Any man who was unfaithful was like ‘huh!’" While King doesn't directly comment on just how scary her movie might be, it's clear that this is definitely a film that will make a lot of people's spines shiver.

If psychological thrillers are your thing and you definitely (unlike me) won't be kept up with nightmares of a non-existent surrogate in your life, then maybe this movie is for you. But if you don't do well with any type of terrifying situation, bring a buddy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go make sure my doors are locked.

Images: Giphy; Screen Gems