Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Spider One
Starring: Brandon Scott, Krsy Fox, Sierra McCormick, Jordan Elsass, Catherine Corcoran
Since making the move from music to filmmaking, Spider One has become quite the prolific writer/director, with four movies
now under his belt since his 2021 debut Allegoria. Like his older brother Rob Zombie, Spider One likes to cast his
romantic partner in his lead roles, and luckily for him Krsy Fox is a highly talented actress. Big Baby is the lightest in tone of the couple's collaborations to date,
though it brushes up against the domestic abuse theme of their previous
films Bury the Bride and Little Bites.
Big Baby is the latest horror movie centred on a troubled writer. In such
films the writer is usually at a low point in their career and dogged by
writer's block. That's not the case with horror screenwriter Adam (Brandon Scott). His career is on the rise, with his latest movie performing well
commercially, and he has a fully supportive girlfriend in Kate (Fox).
But Adam insists on torturing himself by reading reviews and listening
to podcast discussions of his work, desperate for critical acclaim to go
along with his commercial success. After having his latest movie
brutally torn apart by a pair of a-hole podcasters who go so far as to
recommend he kill himself, Adam goes to bed in a huff.
That night Adam has a vivid dream in which he sees a hulking man in a
horrific baby mask butcher Kate in their bed with a large axe.
Discussing the dream with Kate the next morning, Adam decides to take
Kate's advice and begin writing a screenplay centred around the
villainous "Big Baby." While changing the bedclothes, Adam is horrified
to find the sheets are torn at just the point where the axe landed in
his dream. When Adam later witnesses a young woman being murdered by Big
Baby behind a convenience store, he realises his nightmare has made its
way into his reality.
In the title baddy, Spider One has created a potential
franchise-carrying villain, one with a distinctive look. But unlike say,
Freddy Kreuger or Candyman, the rules around Big Baby aren't made clear
enough. There's too much confusion regarding whether Adam is controlling
Big Baby through his writing or Big Baby is controlling Adam's writing.
Adam is visited by his fictional characters who beg him not to write
their deaths, and when he pens a bloody scene it's visualised as though
part of a cheesy slasher movie. These vignettes are entertaining and
feature some fun kills, but it's never established whether we're simply
watching these scenes play out in Adam's mind or in a reality where
Adam's words have real life consequences. When the question of whether
Big Baby actually exists outside of Adam's imagination is finally
answered it only raises more frustrating questions.
It's a shame a little more thought wasn't put into tightening up the
logistics of Big Baby's eponymous villain, as the movie has plenty going for it. Spider One
skilfully shifts his film from light horror-comedy into something darker
and more psychological without any tonal whiplash. It's a transition his
leading man Scott also pulls off with aplomb, with Adam beginning the
movie as a bit of a sad sack and ending it as a genuinely disturbing
figure. Spider One wisely takes the time to establish the relationship
between Adam and Kate, and the two actors' chemistry creates the feeling
that we're watching a couple that have been together for a long time.
Kate's girl next door persona is a refreshing change from the usual
trophy wife characters with whom such movies like to saddle their writer
protagonists. That we quickly grow to like Adam and Kate early on means
we're invested in caring about them when things get really dark in the
final act.
Big Baby is on UK/ROI VOD from
September 7th.