Following a horrific car accident, a young woman’s baby dies in her womb, but, traumatized, she insists on delivering it as normal. And when the baby is miraculously born alive it seems like a blessing, but the new mother soon discovers that something is very, very wrong with Grace.

GRACE is an intriguing horror film. It’s quietly intense and instantly unsettling, chock full of disturbing images and ideas. Of course those are all adjectives you’d associate with a movie about a baby with a thirst for human blood. The film also has lots of creepy character moments and random gross footage (mostly of animal surgery or slaughter …yum!) to make for a temperamental and disconcerting atmosphere.

While director Paul Solet confidently builds a palpable tension all the way to its conclusion, GRACE is not really scary. Not that it needs to be, but fans looking for a terrifying horror movie might be let down with a decidedly psychological character piece that’s horrific, but not horrifying. On that note, actress Jordan Ladd is very good and carries the movie pretty much on her own. . Nothing I’d seen her in before suggested she was capable of something like this, so I was pleasantly surprised. I’m also glad that GRACE is not a “monster baby” movie. That would’ve been super cheesy and taken away from what the film does well.

At 80 minutes, the movie moves at a decent pace, but feels a bit slight. I liked what it did and thought it did it well, but it felt very short and straightforward. The story is padded with some subtext with the characters and their motivations, but when the movie ended I was still left wishing there was more to it. They say it’s good to leave you wanting more, but this was a bit different.

Video: 2.35:1 widescreen. I know GRACE was low budget, but the movie is surprisingly grainy in some scenes. I don’t know if that has to do with the transfer or the movie itself, but it’s surprising.

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital surround. Mostly dialogue, but some nice grisly sound effects accent the soundtrack.

A fairly average set of special features.

Commentary with Paul Soler and Jordan Ladd: This commentary is only available on Blu Ray, so take advantage of it! The pair are joined by Soler’s dog and they all seem to have a good working relationship. The track is light and upbeat, which helps with the disturbing subject matter onscreen.

Commentary by Soler, producer Adam Green, and director of photography Zoran Popovic: You may know Adam Green as the director of the equally loved indie horror flick HATCHET, so these guys definitely know their genre. They’re all also definitely proud of the movie and tell some good stories from the set.

GRACE at Sundance: A documentary that looks at Solet’s journey to Sundance and the impact the festival has on getting independent films seen. You get a look at the screening of the movie and the Q&A session after (including a look at what the director’s mom thinks of the movie.)

GRACE: Conception: Soler talks about where the idea for the movie came from, the short film that it was based on and the difficult road to make it.

GRACE: Delivered: Clocking in at almost 40 minutes, you get a pretty comprehensive look at the quick filming of the movie, including behind the scenes at various scenes.

GRACE: Family: A typical feature on casting and how important it was to get the right actors for the part.

Her Mother’s Eyes: The Look of Grace: A chat with crew about how the production designer, director of photography and other shaped the way the movie turned out.

Lullaby: Scoring Grace: Another typical featurette. I didn’t really notice the score that much, except for a few of the more exciting parts, which I guess means he did his job right.

With its disturbing subject matter, GRACE is definitely not for the faint of heart, but it’s also not your average horror movie (mostly for the better). If you get off on getting grossed out, this is definitely worth at least a rental.

Extra Tidbit: The film garnered attention on the festival circuit for making audience members faint during screenings. Sissies.