Architect Liffey moves to the Irish countryside with her American fiancé, Richard, to refurbish a long-abandoned cottage. Their neighbours are elderly Molly Tucker and her adult daughter, Mabs, who has three daughters but wants a son. After Richard returns to New York City, Liffey learns she's pregnant, which angers Molly and Mabs. Convinced Liffey has the baby her daughter deserves, Molly tries to use black magic to eliminate the fetus.
Direction
Roeg's signature non-linear, hallucinatory visual language.
Cinematography
Ireland's misty landscapes become genuinely malevolent.
Acting
Miranda Richardson's deliciously unhinged village matriarch.
Director
Nicolas Roeg
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Donald Sutherland and director Roeg hadn't worked together since 'Don't Look Now' (1973), making this a 34-year reunion.
Based on Fay Weldon's novel, the film adapts her feminist horror sensibility that treats pregnancy as genuine body horror territory.
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