20 Weeks And Counting: Part One Of Watching Pregnancy Horror When Expecting

One month before finding out that I was pregnant, The Guardian issued a piece on the surge of pregnancy body horror. In 2024, it was rather obvious, with the releases of invasive pregnancy horror stories as shown in Immaculate, The First Omen, American Horror Story: Delicate, and Alien: Romulus. The rise in this specific form of body horror was almost a direct reflection of the horrors going on in the United States: the threats against women’s bodily autonomy were on the presidential ballot and since the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump for a second term, the rumor of women losing their rights has already become a reality in some states yet again.

As if the politics surrounding women’s rights and pregnancy couldn’t be stressful enough, I decided that I would embark on a new horror journey: watching pregnancy horror movies while expecting. What could be scarier than real life, right? I wanted to see if and when I would encounter films that would push my limits beyond the tipping point. Would there be moments where I couldn’t finish a film? Would I start to like sci-fi and horrific alien-like hosts—seeing these creatures as babies and children instead of infectious monsters? This exploration aims to answer these questions, as well as serve as a sort of safe space for pregnant women who still want to enjoy the genre, without evoking unnecessary stress about delivery, childbirth, labor, or otherwise. Will I regret this? I guess I’ll let you know as we get closer to my due date. Until then, here are a few pregnancy horror films I’ve watched thus far, and others I’ve revisited, just to get warmed up for the long journey ahead.

The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019) | Dir. Daniel Farrands

I started with this film for the obvious reason: that it was connected to a true crime story. Although fictionized, the story follows Sharon Tate (Hilary Duff) as she suffers premonitions of the night the Manson family murders herself, her friends Jay Sebring (Jonathan Bennett), Abigail Folger (Lydia Hearst), Wojciech Frykowski (Pawel Szajda), and house handyman Steven Parent (Ryan Cargill). 

From the opening scenes, we watch in an interview as Sharon recounts a rather strange dream she had about her and Jay’s throats being slit. A weird sidebar in what would otherwise be a notable Hollywood interview, it leads into the fact that Sharon’s dreams haven’t actually stopped. What’s worse is, unlike in the interview where her sharing leads to questions about fate and what the future holds, her so-called friends actually gaslight her time and time again that her recounting dreams and strange visions are just a symptom of her pregnancy, and that she’s too stressed. Meanwhile, these same friends have been calling the shots at her home, making themselves comfy and doing essentially whatever they please while her husband, Roman Polanski, continues filming in Europe. Of course, the greater reason they’re there (supposedly) is to be taking care of her, even going so far as to decorate the nursery while she is away.

I’ll admit, while I could see how this could all be rather annoying, I wasn’t invested or even slightly attached to a single one of the characters. Even having the full background from reading Helter Skelter and watching several documentaries, I couldn’t find anything that connected me to the characters—despite also being pregnant and realizing Sharon’s fate. I think the biggest shock was seeing Jonathan Bennett for the first time since Mean Girls, much less attractive, in a speedo. Fast forward to the fateful end, while this differed from the true story and provided some entertainment into how everyone would attempt to escape their fate, I was disinterested as a result of the slow build-up. Overall, easier to watch than a documentary or read the book, certainly, but not necessarily worth your time, either.

In the Tall Grass (2019) | Dir. Vincenzo Natali

This Canadian supernatural horror drama, based on Stephen King and his son Joe Hill’s 2012 novella of the same name, really threw me. While the movie is not necessarily a “pregnancy horror,” it does feature a pregnant woman struggling through a rather confusing and horrific event, both in her personal life and now among a maze of tall grass in the middle of nowhere.

The story begins with Becky DeMuth (Laysla De Oliveira) traveling across the country with her brother Cal (Avery Whitted) to a family who has agreed to adopt her unborn child. While we don’t get all the details immediately, the viewer can piece together over time that her previous relationship hadn’t worked out as planned. While making a short stop, Becky hears a call for help from a child who sounds lost in the tall grass lining the road. Her maternal instincts kick in, and it is decided between the two of them that they’ll go and find the boy. I mean, it should be easy enough, right? As a Western Pennsylvania native, playing in cornfields was a practical pastime, and I’ll admit there was a moment in my childhood when I thought I might be lost in one. Just pick a direction and keep going, right?

Not in this field of tall grass. No. If you lose the person you’re wandering with, you’re practically destined not to find them—or your way out. The field throws voices, making you think you’re getting closer and then farther away. In time, we discover that the field also serves as a sort of time-traveling universe, or portal. It’s hard to describe, but it keeps you glued to your seat while watching not just the siblings, but an entire family, and later, Becky’s ex-boyfriend, fight to survive—and escape.

Anna Castillo in Nowhere, image via IMDB

Lost for hours, and then seemingly days, my limits were heavily pushed when Becky, although reunited with her brother, was tricked into thinking that she was eating grass when it was actually bits and pieces of her stillborn child. I’m telling you—this movie was wild. While nothing else could honestly compare for me in terms of fright or fear, despite watching several other scary scenes, that moment was truly unsettling and will stick with me forever.

Nowhere (2023) | Dir. Albert Pintó

Given the current nation’s climate, this movie genuinely fucked with my head. Taking place in a dystopian setting where women and children are being killed as instructed by the government, it is obvious why Mia, Nico, and their unborn baby are attempting to flee the country. Sneaking into maritime containers seems to be one of the safer and more successful options—at least that’s how Nico is trying to make Mia feel. Of course, those feelings are chucked out the window when their group is split up and Nico gets pulled into another container. Separated, pregnant Mia now has to face this journey alone and it’s not easy, to say the least.

Hours later, her container is caught by government officials. In a last-ditch effort to save herself, Mia climbs to the top of a stacked merchandise crate, leaving barely any room between her and the ceiling, and unnoticeable to the officials evaluating the situation. As you would expect, all civilians attempting to escape the country are killed onsite, their bodies cleaned out, and Mia is left completely alone. The good news—she survived AND her container made it onto a ship. The bad news? The ship runs into a massive storm throughout the night and her container is thrown into the ocean.

With bullet holes shot throughout the container, Mia must think of a way to slow down the intake of water, and ultimately, the sinking of the shipping container. Her survival skills throughout this film are truly incredible and speak volumes about not just the will to survive, but the will to protect your unborn baby. Which, we can’t forget about that—yes, Mia is pregnant throughout all of this. Very pregnant. In one scene, Mia has to birth her baby completely on her own. Having hired a doula and planning to give birth in a hospital, this was an intense scene, to say the least. 

To find out how the story ends for mother and child, I would encourage all readers to give it a view. Let’s just say, in terms of survival for Mia and her baby girl, keeping and consuming her body-grown organ was inevitable. Although one of the more testing films, for me, it was an incredible performance and a truly thought-provoking watch.

A Quiet Place (2018) | Dir. John Krasinski

Can you just imagine being pregnant, and then having to give birth, when there are monsters who will find and kill you simply if they hear you? I haven’t even given birth yet and this idea shakes me to my core.

However, having been researching my fair share of water and home births, I had to give much kudos to Evelyn’s character, who decided to go the water route. From what I’ve read, thankfully she’s already had children and ideally, this type of birth would go much more smoothly, and quietly. Regardless of how things should have gone down, I was anticipating the worst watching these scenes, which felt like it took forever. Even without the fear of the creatures hearing any sound of what was going on, the physical labor and mental strain you could see Evelyn enduring was just as, if not more painful. Whenever my son decides to arrive Earth-side, I feel like I will be channeling Evelyn’s determination and strength with every fiber of my being.

Avery Whitted and Laysla De Oliveira in In The Tall Grass, image via IMDB

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) | Dir. Bill Condon

Last, but certainly not least in this exploration of pregnancy horror, I found myself thinking about Breaking Dawn - Part 1, from the famed Twilight saga. As a teen, I was obsessed like many others my age and was happy with nearly every film’s depiction of the books. Although it’s been years since I read them, the movies continue to play in my house, almost as often as cable TV’s random weekend binges of Harry Potter. Assuming readers have either seen the movies or read the books by now, we all know that while Bella is still human, Edward manages to get her pregnant on their honeymoon—something previously assumed impossible.

Thanks to the quick-paced growth and nature of vampires in this world, Bella’s pregnancy is on the fast track, pushing her through the first, second, and third trimesters in just a matter of weeks instead of months. Okay, for a second there, I kind of envy that… but thinking back to all the pain and suffering she had to go through to birth her hybrid child, on second thought, I’ll keep my 9 months of roller coaster symptoms.

Though we are looking at a fantasy instance in this film, it was hard to watch Bella wither away before her family, unable to consume anything. While I am lucky enough in my pregnancy to not experience morning sickness, I’ve heard several stories about women being diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), which is a very severe form of morning sickness that leaves the mother constantly feeling sick, throwing up, dehydrated, and in some cases, will require hospitalization. Just the thought of being in that much pain and so limited in what medications you can have, foods you can keep down, etc. just sounds horrendous.

From here, things only get worse, as we realize the baby needs blood to feed on and is growing too strong to be contained in Bella’s body. The scene where Bella’s back literally breaks from the strength of one of her baby’s kicks still haunts my dreams. In my current state, I can feel my son kick but they are more like little bumps, and to my husband, they feel like heartbeats. I can only hope that when he’s strong enough, while I doubt he’ll be able to break any bones, he doesn’t manage to get a foot caught in my ribs or take the wind out of me—both stories I’ve already heard from friends and family that happened to them. Oh, the joy of pregnancy. Let’s see how scary the horror genre can make it.

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Article by Destiny King

Destiny writes about true crime and thrillers. She likes movies and stories that make you question the world around you, more so than what makes you jump.

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