False Positive
By Brian Costello,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Uneven, suspenseful horror has violence, blood, some sex.
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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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False Positive
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Based on 2 parent reviews
Worst movie I’ve EVER seen
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False Positive
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What's the Story?
In FALSE POSITIVE, Lucy (Ilana Glazer) and Adrian (Justin Theroux) are a married couple who have been trying to conceive a child for the past two years. After contacting Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan), an in-demand fertility doctor who was also Adrian's med school mentor, Lucy becomes pregnant. However, she is pregnant with two boys and a girl, and Hindle strongly advises that, for safety reasons, Lucy and Adrian choose between the boys or the girl in a process called "selective reduction." While Adrian wants the boys, Lucy wants to have a daughter. Adrian agrees, and Hindle performs the procedure. But throughout her pregnancy, Lucy becomes increasingly distrusting of Hindle. When she gives birth, she must confront what Adrian and Hindle have been plotting behind her back, as the nightmarish visions she has been experiencing, and the gaslighting she has been enduring, take on a terrible meaning.
Is It Any Good?
It's a slow-burn suspense paired with satirical commentary on how women and pregnancy are treated in society. But any tension that False Positive creates doesn't really pay off, and the insertion of occasional heavy-handed analysis on how the patriarchy (fertility doctors, husbands) has encroached, gaslighted, and mansplained the miracle of childbirth for women results in a mess of a movie. While many of the arguments raised in the film are worthy of discussion, so much of it comes off as self-indulgent that it begins to feel like it's the audience getting an ultrasound wand shoved down its throat instead of one of the nurses in a later scene.
These shortcomings increase as the movie goes on. In case the condescension from her husband and fertility doctor -- and talk of "mommy brain" from everyone else -- wasn't enough to make the point, Lucy's male co-workers are there to make sure you really, really get it, by making her the lunch go-getter, despite her career success. There's also a scene that confronts Lucy's White privilege that, while valid, comes off as shoehorned in at the expense of side stories that aren't fully explored. What's more, the payoff as the mysteries are revealed isn't that surprising, and the attempts at dark humor don't really inspire amusement. Nor does it add to the creepy vibe the movie seems to want to aspire to. What's left is a movie that should be much better than it actually is, considering the talent involved and the themes explored.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in False Positive. Did the blood and gore seem over-the-top? Did the violent scenes help tell the story in an effective way? Was it shocking or thrilling? Why? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?
Discuss the slow-burn suspenseful approach of the movie. Did you find it scary? How was it similar and/or different to other horror movies you have seen? What's the appeal of scary movies?
What role did sex play in the movie? Were the scenes involving nudity portrayed sensitively? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
Talk about the role of women in the movie. What messages was the movie trying to communicate about women and childbirth, and how pregnancy is perceived in our society?
Talk about the strong language in the movie. Did it seem necessary, or excessive? What did it contribute to the movie?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: June 25, 2021
- Cast: Ilana Glazer, Justin Theroux, Pierce Brosnan
- Director: John Lee
- Inclusion Information: Queer actors
- Studio: Hulu
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 92 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: disturbing/bloody images, sexual content, graphic nudity and language
- Last updated: February 28, 2022
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