Stephen Portland’s Something focuses on a young couple, played by Michael Gazin and Jane Rowen, as they adjust to life with a new baby. Peppered with the telltale signs of postpartum depression and overexertion, Something mines its thrills from what we have come to know as the dark side of early parenthood. Although Something may hit close to home for recently minted mommies and daddies, it has the capacity to inject general unease into the heart of any person who actually has a home.

Relying almost entirely on its two leads, Something gives space to Gazin and Rowen to go through the paces of learning to deal with a colicky infant. While this experience is often the subject of comedies, it was rather interesting to watch expectations about this subject matter be subverted at every turn through the film. Much of this heavy lifting is done by Gazin and Rowen, which effectively recreates the feelings of claustrophobia and paranoia. Menacing presences may not feature heavily in the film and, yet, they haunt almost each and every interaction the couple shares.

On the technical side of things, the cinematography of Something is quite clean and composed. The same could be said of the film’s overall art direction. Honestly, I spent most of the time watching Something wishing I could live in the young couple’s home. Sparse and modern though the sets may be, they do indicate the potential for a nuanced sense of style in future films. At times, Something loses a bit of its bite in the first two acts because its editing and sound design are not a tight as they could be. As the first full-length feature for director Stephen Portland, though, these issues with pacing could have been far worse.

While Something follows many expected conventions for psychological thrillers, it does ultimately offer up a twist at the end of the film that is not only thought-provoking, but also socially conscious. While I am not up for spoiling the twist, it will get a hearty “hm” from the viewer. If Eric Roberts leering over sunglasses and mid-century modern interiors are both regular features in your cup of tea, then Something has, well, something for you!