A perilous birth brings terror in a secluded cabin in the woods in Raymond Creamer’s Goody Goody. The effective and alarming film is now on Shudder.
Giving birth can be a horrific thing. No, not the baby itself, okay, babies are scary! I have one, five years old now, but the act. Ripping, tearing, all the blood. Demands upon the body. It takes a great deal of effort, and it can have awful effects. Death looms as a new life is brought into the world. How scary and stressful this can be, along with the complications of this particular birth, is the crux of the film and the horror in Raymond Creamer’s Goody Goody, coming to Shudder this month.
The terrors of birthing come to life with a terrific style. Goody is ready to give birth in her secluded cabin. With her are her supportive husband, Jayson; his angry-at-the-whole-thing sister, Candance; and the midwife, Sarah. That’s it. With that central four, Goody Goody is an isolated, claustrophobic four-hander. Let’s not forget a massive snowstorm is coming in, and the power is already on the fritz. Births are harrowing, often long and painful, even in the comfort of a hospital, let alone in this situation. From here, it can only build to something different and powerful. And Goody Goody works; it builds in intensity as the birthing process continues, plus the additional complications you would expect when you know you’re watching a horror-film birth. If it were easy and loving, it wouldn’t be on the horror service Shudder, right?
But knowing it’s from Shudder does set an expectation. I want to note that Goody Goody gets most of the horror in the mood and vibe, how Creamer shoots and presents it, and the strength of emotion from the quartet. Yes, there are moments of gore and blood, visual horror. But that’s not the push (push! Push! Breathe!) of Goody Goody. It’s visceral in different ways. The film is a visual treat of uncomfortable darkness and lighting. The woods loom under an ever-thickening blanket of white. Inside the cabin, as the power flickers and dies, Creamer bathes the location in reds and blacks, with touches of blues and candlelight. He also makes notable and fantastic use of mirrors. Tension builds for the audience and characters alike with each shift, supported by strong and moody sound design.
The four players are fantastic. As the situation shifts and gets more harrowing, we feel for them, hoping for the best for each. The chemistry is fantastic, stageplay-like as they bounce off of one another, digging into character naturally and effortlessly. Goody is Samantha Robinson, almost unrecognizable from the lead in Love Witch (with how stylized that film is, not surprised). Fear the Walking Dead’s Colby Hollman is the husband, working his uncertainties. As Cadance, often a reactive player to the horrors around her, Zoe Renne of The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes pays well in a slightly antagonistic role. And at the center is Colleen Foy’s Sarah, the midwife. She’s a powerhouse, commanding the screen and the characters. While Foy has mostly been a day player across TV, this sort of performance should lead to something more.
Without giving away hows, something is messy and messed with the baby, and Creamer keeps those shifts natural in an unnatural setting, keeping the horror grounded. It gets deliciously nasty, and the film earns it, rewarding the viewer. Goody Goody, written and directed by Eric Creamer, is a single-location film (mostly; a flashback to Sarah’s office breaks the location once) that works very well. The terror of a birth with additional complications would be notable for all, but especially parents who have been through it, although the supernatural additions hopefully aren’t anyone’s experience. With a set of great performances and a great sense of tension via action and production design, Goody Goody is good good. Goody Goody premieres on Shudder on September 11, 2026.