THE ANIMAL WITHIN

A psychological horror film about a pregnant woman fighting to reclaim her body from a family that believes love justifies possession.

Longing for warmth and family, Yu-ning follows her husband to a remote mountain house to rest during her pregnancy. There, her mother-in-law Mei-chen takes complete control of her daily life, forcing her into a strict vegetarian diet in the name of “purity” and care. But the house feels wrong. Strange talismans cover the walls, and Yu-ning begins to notice something terrifying: her unborn baby seems to move in time with the weak heartbeats of her dying father-in-law upstairs. After her brother is brutally killed and her senses begin to slip, Yu-ning uncovers the truth. Mei-chen is not preparing for a grandchild’s birth—she is performing a forbidden ritual meant to move her husband’s soul into the unborn baby. Trapped inside a home that has become a living altar, Yu-Ning must tear apart the false image of a loving family. She must make a taboo choice to reclaim her body, her name, and her child’s future.”