Birth of Separation

Fri., Sept. 24, 9:30 p.m., free, Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-569-9700, phillyfilmfest.com.

by Eric Schuman

[ film ]

If you're in need of a good freak-out, Birth of Separation should do the trick. Getting première treatment this week at the Philadelphia Underground Film Festival (PUFF), this thriller is based on a day in the life of pregnant housewife Elizabeth, played by local ingénue Ashley-Rebekah Faulkner. Everything is peachy until a sinister stranger (Steve Saturn) knocks at the door. Suddenly the heroine finds herself captive in her own home, being barraged by a series of psychologically torturous rants. Producer Dennis Hanley says his aim for the film was to drop the audience into a similarly dire mental state as the lead, but he never intended it to be labeled a horror flick. "[The movie] is often miscategorized as a horror film, because of how deeply it affects people." A Q&A with the director will follow the screening.