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- The Baby - US DVD - 

The seventies will always be regarded as a golden and bold age of cinema for many
reasons. There was a time when you could see "Paper Moon" before you went down the
street to your local Grindhouse Theater and caught a viewing of "Children Shouldn't
Play With Dead Things." 
It was in the course of this groundbreaking decade that art and sleaze finally 
found a middle ground. During this turbulent time "The Baby" was born.
'Ann Gentry' (Anjanette Comer) is the social worker who is assigned to watch over 
'Baby' (David Manzy), his mother 'Mrs. Wadsworth' (Ruth Roman, who looks like a 
strung out Liz Taylor - like there's any other kind!) and her oversexed daughters,
'Germaine' (Marianna Hill from "Medium Cool") and 'Alba' (Suzanne Zenor from the 
great TV movie "The Girl Most Likely To..."). 
'Baby' is a special case because he is a man in his 20s who is mentally retarded
and thinks he is a baby. He cries, wears diapers and sleeps in a giant crib. His kin
proves how protective they are of him when they beat the tar out of a babysitter who
is found breastfeeding 'Baby!'  
Obviously he needs some looking after! 
But when 'Ann' takes special interest in 'Baby' it does not please the family. 
This prompts 'Alba' to shock her man-child brother repeatedly with an electric cattle
prod chanting "Baby doesn't walk and Baby doesn't talk." 
So it's not too long before the social worker uncovers some not so deep family 
secrets. But it slowly becomes clear that 'Ann's' concern with 'Baby' is really that
of obsession as the family begins to play a deadly game of cat and mouse with the 
comely social worker.  
It's truly a match of depraved wits as we arrive to the shocking ending which will
either leave you hunched over in fits of anxious laughter or your jaw dropped firmly
on the floor.
Unlike any film you've ever seen, "The Baby" captures a depraved view of the 70s and 
of society in general.  
Underneath it all this is a film about women done wrong, the evils of man, and the
desperation a woman feels when being left without someone of the male persuasion to
care for them. But to get to the core of "The Baby" you should really be made of a
strong constitution. With nary of lick of blood or gore, "The Baby" is still guaranteed
to make you squirm in your seat.
David Manzy puts in a wonderfully disturbed performance as 'Baby'. His voice was 
dubbed with actual baby cries that linger in your mind well after the film has 
finished. 
The rest of the cast does a wonderful job of playing this twisted tale with a straight
face. You may hate some of the characters but they never fail to fascinate. 
But it's the unique story and wonderfully droll dialog that is the star of this film.
Original in all respects, it's just a shame "The Baby" looks like it wasn't afforded 
much of a budget to truly make the film a classic.  
I had searched years for "The Baby" after reading some remarkable reviews of it. I 
finally found an old VHS copy of it at a video store. Now Image has brought this 
unheard of gem to DVD. Unfortunately it's gotten the bastard step-child treatment
that a lot of lesser known titles get. 
Presented full frame with some chapter stops, it's not much better than the video I 
ran across, but at least now the DVD can bring a whole new deranged audience of horror
lovers looking for something unique.

Reviewed By Amanda By Night

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