Rogue Cinema - Postpartum (2007)

Postpartum (2007) - By Brian Morton
Posted on Saturday, September 01 @ Mountain Standard Time by Duane

It seems that serial killers are in vogue again, but we've all seen the standard police procedural style serial killer movie, so it's not big deal. But, when someone finds a fresh angle for this cool genre, it's like a breath of fresh air! That's how I felt after seeing Postpartum.

The story here is a bit complex, it begins years ago, when a man (who we find out will become a serial killer) and his girlfriend part ways, not knowing that she is pregnant. Flash forward, to today and the now-grown woman hires a private detective to find the child that she had to give up all those years ago. As the intrepid detective digs into the case, he becomes more and more convinced that the now grown child he's looking for is, himself, a killer. Now, that's just scratching the surface of this excellent micro-budgeted movie. Postpartum is based on a novel by Cheryl Shaver, but the movie is a great take on the genre, with the mother searching for a lost child who's also searching for her, but for far different reasons!

This is one of those rare low budget movies that are greater than the sum of its parts. The acting is top notch, the technical style is great and the overall look of the movie is fantastic! I have to give credit to director Randy DeFord for working in such a collaborative style, it seems that everyone was able to contribute to their character and that seems to have added to the character development, even the smallest parts are taken seriously and developed fully, there are no throw away characters here, even characters who only have a scene or two are fully formed characters, it's really quite amazing. The real stand outs in the film (to me) were Adam Shephard as detective Gabe Townsend, K. Elaine Hooker as Beth Benton (the woman who hires Gabe) and Donald Becker as Crawford (the former FBI agent who assists Gabe), but there's not a bad actor in the cast, which is amazing for a low budget movie!

I'm giving Postpartum three and a half out of four cigars, it's not the perfect movie, there are a couple of missteps in the production, but nothing that keeps you from enjoying the movie! You can find out more about Postpartum by heading to Oak Road Multimedia.com. So, until next time, when I'll continue the search for my own mother (I keep finding her, but she keeps running away), remember that the best movies are bad movies.