Grint's Fears: Parenthood Meets Horror in Nightborn

Rupert Grint stars in the new horror film "Nightborn," which premiered Friday on Shudder. Grint, who recently learned he was expecting his second child before filming began in Finland, stated the movie tapped into his personal fears about fatherhood. He plays Jon, a new father restoring a remote house with his wife, Saga (Seidi Haarla), and their monstrous baby, Kuura.

Grint described the experience as "very triggering" due to his own paternal anxieties, likening a new baby to an "alien" that requires learning on the fly. This marks Grint's second horror project involving a child, following his role in Apple TV+'s "Servant." He found the script's honesty about the difficult, sometimes "gruesome" aspects of early parenthood particularly resonant.

Co-writer and director Hanna Bergholm explained "Nightborn" was inspired by observations of motherhood and the physical changes women experience. The film also touches on miscommunication within families, as seen when Saga's mother and sister offer unsolicited advice about Kuura. Grint noted that Jon often says the "wrong thing" despite good intentions, struggling to communicate effectively with Saga about their child's well-being.

The movie's chilling infant, Kuura, named for the Finnish word for frost and inspired partly by local mythology, was realized through animatronic models and puppetry. Other babies were used as Kuura aged throughout the film. Grint expressed his enjoyment of the horror genre, appreciating its creative freedom and the international experience of filming in Finland.