SHIVA BABY (2020)

Emma Seligman’s feature-length debut, SHIVA BABY, is a romantic horror movie. Based on her short film of the same name, SHIVA BABY focuses on Danielle (Rachel Sennott), a college senior who is struggling to make ends meet. As a means of making money, Danielle is a sugar baby to a man named Max (Danny Deferrari). The audience is introduced to the two of them when they’re having sex. Daniella ends their time together shortly after they finish having sex because she has a family event to go to.

That family event is a shiva (Jewish funeral) for Danielle’s uncle’s second wife’s sister, a fact Danielle only learns midway through the event. At first, she’s dealing with the usual family get-together stresses and annoyances. Aunts, uncles, parents, and family friends all ask Danielle what exactly she’s going to be doing once she graduates. They pinch her cheeks, tease her repeatedly, and ask invasive questions, all in the name of family.

Danielle’s already a little more on edge than usual because her ex-girlfriend, Maya (Molly Gordon), is at the shiva. Compared to Danielle’s gender studies degree, Maya’s burgeoning law career makes her seem so much more “adult.”

There are also still some unresolved romantic feelings between the two of them.

The arrival of Danielle’s sugar daddy, Max, his wife, Kim (Dianna Agron), and their small baby only adds to Danielle’s already overwhelming anxiety.

Her parents, unaware of Danielle’s connection to Max, try to get Kim to hire Danielle as an intern at her company. That’s only the tip of the tangled web that constricts over the course of the pitch-perfect 78-minute film.

To limit SHIVA BABY to one genre would be reductive. The film effortlessly twists from comedic to thoughtful to outrageous to gentle to terrifying. SHIVA BABY is the sum of all these different emotions in the same way that life is. There’s an absurdity to the film that never feels too unrealistic. Few movies really lean into acknowledging how strange and ever-changing life is, but SHIVA BABY thrives in that ridiculousness.

At first glance it may seem that the film is too directed toward a specific audience. That the only people who can relate to Danielle are those who have been to a shiva where their ex-girlfriend, sugar daddy, and sugar daddy’s wife. It’s the specificity that is actually the film’s greatest strength. Seligman’s script is so grounded in honest emotions that the film becomes universal. The circumstances are exaggerated, but the listlessness, tension, and stress that Danielle feels are all immediately recognizable.

Most of the film takes place in the home where the shiva is being hosted, and it creates a sense of claustrophobia for Danielle.

All the familial expectations, as well as the presence of Maya, Max, and Kim, make the walls of the house seem like they’re closing in.

There is no escape. Each room Danielle enters in search of a moment to breathe is no better than the last. There are always curious people poking and prodding, trying to learn more about her personal life.

The discordant score adds to the overall unease. Ariel Marx’s music sounds like it belongs in the sort of unsettling Ari Aster horror movies of A24. And yet, instead of these tense orchestral flourishes marking the impending horror of demonic possession, they accent the ever-increasing anxiety of Danielle and the audience. The ear-piercing screams of the titular shiva baby crank the anxiety up yet another notch.

Despite all the anxiety and tension, however, there are some remarkably sweet moments of reconciliation and honesty between Maya and Danielle. It’s endearing to watch them dance between outright flirting and terrified candor. They’re early twenty-somethings with complicated feelings that they don’t know how to articulate. Is the shiva of a distant relative the place to have a heart-to-heart with an ex-love? Maybe not, but life is funny sometimes.

Films are becoming more bloated by the day. It’s not uncommon to see runtimes of at least two and a half hours, with some recent releases pushing the three-hour mark. That can feel like quite the undertaking for the audience, especially when the film probably doesn’t need to be that long. SHIVA BABY never strays in its focus. It’s one of the most self-assured feature debuts in recent years and uses its 78-minute runtime more effectively than many movies twice its length. When the film ends, there’s a feeling that the audience would like to see more, but it’s not because something is missing. It’s quite the opposite. SHIVA BABY is so smart and filled with top-of-the-line performances that audiences wouldn’t mind being around these characters a little longer. That in itself is remarkable ─ knowing when to end things so as to not undo the potency of what came before.