When the Bough Breaks

PG-13

Released Sep 9, 2016

1h 42m

Drama

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List

12%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

45%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Young, professional and successful, John and Laura (Regina Hall) Taylor desperately want to have a baby, but are unable to conceive. After exhausting all other options, the couple hire Anna, a beautiful young woman who agrees to become a surrogate mother for the Taylors. Everything seems fine until Anna starts to develop a dangerous fixation with John as the pregnancy moves further along. The Taylors now find themselves playing a deadly game with a psychopath who holds the key to their future.

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Critics Consensus

Shallow, clichéd, and silly instead of suspenseful, When the Bough Breaks offers nothing domestic thriller fans haven't already seen before -- and done far better.

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Audience Member

Script lacking…. I wanted to be on the edge of my seat but didn’t happen

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/18/22

Full Review

sarah s

Predictable and done before, entertaining though as the emotional decisions to use a last extracted embryo begins the film for an early 40s couple unable to conceive. Twists are seemingly thrown in as filler 2/3 of the way through and ending is annoying. Loose ends that aren't tied up and, oh look, the docile female becomes a badass to save the day all of a sudden. It's an okay movie. Just don't expect much.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

nilufer e

I knew what I was about to watch, something shallow, predictable and cheap. It didn't disappoint but I just wanted to watch some pretty people and I did. Acting was mostly bad though.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Boring and stupid. It started off well with a decent premise and characters and set up and yet something not quite right, assisted by a strange score. Then it became a weird cliche dumb psycho-thriller. Sucks!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Loved it! Very thrilling and fun to watch

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/11/19

Full Review

Audience Member

Great movie for a Friday night. Full of suspense, incredible acting, and a strong plot. Much better than the original versions that these other people are saying this is a knock off version of. Not sure why these people hate it so much, the story was well thought out and the acting was incredible.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

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Jon Cassar

Director

Morris Chestnut

John Taylor

Regina Hall

Laura Taylor

Romany Malco

Todd Decker

Michael Kenneth Williams

Roland White

Glenn Morshower

Martin Cooper

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39%

65%

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Gifted

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58%

97%

Elizabeth Blue

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40%

84%

Same Kind of Different as Me

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31%

67%

Not Easily Broken

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When the Bough Breaks: Trailer 2

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When the Bough Breaks: Trailer 1

2:26

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K. Austin Collins

The Ringer

Give us a When the Bough Breaks with smarter direction.

Aug 10, 2017

Full Review

Josh Kupecki

Austin Chronicle

A neutered, paint-by-numbers snoozefest.

Rated: 1/5

Sep 15, 2016

Full Review

Sheri Linden

Hollywood Reporter

A lazily written and generically directed Fatal Attraction knockoff.

Sep 10, 2016

Full Review

Andrew Galdi

Movie Bitches

It was incredibly boring.

May 6, 2020

Full Review

Avaryl Halley

Movie Bitches

This could've been so much more interesting. It really could have.

May 6, 2020

Full Review

Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

The worst kind of thriller -- one where seemingly smart people keep doing dumb things over and over and over.

Rated: F

Jan 15, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Young, professional and successful, John and Laura (Regina Hall) Taylor desperately want to have a baby, but are unable to conceive. After exhausting all other options, the couple hire Anna, a beautiful young woman who agrees to become a surrogate mother for the Taylors. Everything seems fine until Anna starts to develop a dangerous fixation with John as the pregnancy moves further along. The Taylors now find themselves playing a deadly game with a psychopath who holds the key to their future.

Director: Jon Cassar
Producer: Morris Chestnut, Dylan Sellers, Glenn S. Gainor
Screenwriter: Jack Olsen
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Unique Features
Rating: PG-13 (Sexuality/Partial Nudity|Language|Some Disturbing Images|Thematic Elements|Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $29.7M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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