The Baby

Discuss releases from Arrow and the films on them.

Moderator: yoloswegmaster

Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
DarkImbecile
Ask me about my visible cat breasts
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:24 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM

The Baby

#1 Post by DarkImbecile » Wed Apr 03, 2019 5:24 pm

Image

Still traumatised by the loss of her husband, well-meaning social worker Ann Gentry (Anjanette Comer, The Loved One) throws herself into her latest assignment: the case of “Baby”, a 21-year-old man with the mind of an infant – who crawls, cries and has yet to make it out of nappies. But Baby’s family – the tyrannical “Mama” Wadsworth (Ruth Roman, Strangers on a Train) and her two demented daughters – aren’t the only ones with a warped conception of familial relations, and the full horror only begins when Ann sets her sights on liberating the drooling man-child… and in so doing unleashes the wrath of the Wadsworth women.

45 years after its original release, this film remains one of the most bizarre horror movies ever committed to celluloid. Directed by Ted Post (Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Magnum Force) and co-starring Marianna Hill (Blood Beach, Messiah of Evil), The Baby is a twisted, psychedelic nightmare of suburban depravity.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• 1.85:1 and 1.33:1 versions of the feature
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
• Down Will Come Baby – a new retrospective with film professor Rebekah McKendry
• Tales from the Crib – archival audio Interview with director Ted Post
• Baby Talk – archival audio Interview with Star David Mooney
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Kat Ellinger

User avatar
colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: The Baby

#2 Post by colinr0380 » Fri Apr 05, 2019 2:37 pm

And here's the 1994 Moviedrome introduction to The Baby by Alex Cox, when it was brilliantly programmed as the second half of a double bill with the original Halloween (and with Jane Campion's short film Peel in between!). He's not kidding about the ending either!

User avatar
therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: The Baby

#3 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Mar 16, 2020 1:12 pm

I saw this a while ago before knowing it had an Arrow release, but man this is among the most absurd films I've ever seen in its premise and execution. The idea of a social worker investing herself and compromising safety against ethical guidelines toward inappropriate boundaries like this is the first piece of reality one needs to abandon to get on the film's wavelength, and there are many more to come. If you can survive the first 15 minutes without disliking it, the ride is worth its weight in gold, and the ending is so deranged that it would be depressingly cynical if the whole film hadn't been one giant selfish exposure of mankind's limitless willingness, or even default, to engage in exploitative behavior for personal gain. This is a sick film, but one that knows exactly what it's doing every step of the way, and by reaching a self-reflexive level of exploitation about exploitative human nature in the most chaotically insane maneuvers imaginable, it succeeds at being a dark comedy just as much if not more than a horror.

User avatar
zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: The Baby

#4 Post by zedz » Thu Apr 09, 2020 2:09 am

I'm with therewillbeblus in giving this a cautious recommendation. It's complete trash (the hook is basically women catfighting over the an ‘adult baby’), but it’s reasonably well made and so seriously trashy that it was enjoyable. Ruth Roman leaves no corner of the set unchewed and is the propulsive force that keeps the film rollicking forward.

Post Reply