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The Expected

Name: The Expected
Director: Carolina Sandvik
Released: 2021
Duration: 14 min

Representation Score

0.6/10

Minimal

2021

Director

Carolina Sandvik

Runtime

14 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film presents a stark, grotesque view of domestic life through an animated horror lens. The woman’s perspective is limited to her death and the resulting mess, leaving the male partner to manage the aftermath. This creates a lopsided focus on the man’s reluctance to care and the maintenance of the status quo. The visual focus is on the literal remains of birth rather than the experience of pregnancy itself. The partner pours the woman's blood into an aquarium, where something begins to grow. This action treats the situation as a domestic inconvenience that must be contained. Racial and ethnic identities are absent from the available context, as are LGBTQ+ and disability representations. The story relies on a generic couple to explore the dread associated with unwanted parenthood and the oppressive nature of traditional family duties.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Expected have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The narrative centers on a heterosexual couple. No same-sex romance, non-binary identities, or LGBTQ+ themes appear in the synopsis or credits.

How does The Expected portray gender?

Limited

Pregnancy is framed as a traumatic burden for the woman, who dies early. The male partner drives the remaining plot, treating the situation as a domestic inconvenience.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Expected?

Minimal

No cast or specific racial identities are listed. The synopsis describes a generic couple without ethnic markers.

How does The Expected represent religion and culture?

Fair

The film questions the institution of parenthood, portraying the partner as reluctant. Traditional family duties are framed as oppressive rather than joyful.

Does The Expected include disability representation?

Minimal

No characters are depicted with ongoing physical or cognitive disabilities. The woman’s death is a plot event, not a representation of disabled life.

Present on Screen

The woman’s death and the resulting mess are central to the plot, grounding the horror in a specific domestic event.
The male partner’s reluctance to care is clearly depicted, showing the burden of maintaining the status quo after the woman’s death.
The visual focus on the blood-filled aquarium provides a concrete, grotesque image of the aftermath of birth.

Limited or Absent

No specific racial or ethnic identities are named, leaving the characters as a generic couple without distinct cultural markers.
The woman’s perspective is limited to her death, offering no insight into her experience of pregnancy or her life before the event.
No LGBTQ+ characters or relationships are depicted, and no disabled characters appear in the story.

Official Synopsis

A pregnant woman bleeds out in the bathtub. Terrified, her partner is forced to take care of the empty skin that remains and pour the blood into the empty aquarium. Then he continues his enclosed everyday life while something seems to be growing in the blood-filled glass box. Carolina Sandvik is back with a feverishly absurd horror story about a couple who don't get what they're expecting.

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