The Cinema-Hole

THE B-MOVIE BANK: The Baby (1973)

Account Type: Internet, as viewed on YouTube

Account Summary: Social worker Ann Gentry investigates the strange case of the Wadsworth family, which consists of Mother Wadsworth, two older daughters, and “Baby,” a full-grown, diaper-clad, infantilized man.  Ann takes a special interest in Baby and starts to visit the Wadsworth household on a more consistent basis, much to the chagrin of Ms. Wadsworth, who sees Ann’s continued presence as meddlesome.  When Ann’s concern for Baby’s well-being threatens to disrupt the family dynamic, Mother Wadsworth and her daughters take drastic measures to make sure their lifestyle remains intact.  However, Ann refuses to go quietly and ultimately proves her interest in Baby is more than just professional.

This film is an engaging curiosity.  Although labeled as a horror/thriller, there’s really no evidence of that genre until the final act.  The movie is rated PG (granted well before PG-13 was introduced), but belies that rating with its overall strangeness.  Watching a full-grown man crawl around on all fours, emitting baby sounds is creepy in-and-of-itself, but the way Baby is treated by everyone involved, as if he was an ACTUAL baby, makes the situation all the more unpleasant.  How disturbing you find this all to be really depends on how odd your tastes are.  For the most part, the film is played surprisingly straightforward.  The acting is respectable for a movie with this sort of subject matter and Ruth Roman particularly shines as the overbearing matriarch of the family.

The movie is glaringly from the ’70s, especially during a campy party scene that leads to the climax.  And what a climax!  The conclusion provides a worthwhile payoff and leaves the viewer even more disturbed than before.

If this sounds like your kind of happening and you want it to freak you out, Baby, The Baby was just released a couple weeks ago on DVD, or you can start watching it on YouTube right now with part one here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhkewFxg_tE&feature=related 

Interest Rate: High

Investment Grade: A- (Strong)