Demon Baby (2014)

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This is by far one of the best low budget British movies I have ever seen.I need to qualify this slightly. The plot is not that great, but from a cinematic quality this is on par with the likes of Four Weddings, Eden Lake, The Remains Of The Day.Early on you see Rose and Theo canoeing, you feel every single splash in the water. The Camera angles are phenomenal, the build up of tension just incredible. It's all so perfect.The SFX are another let down, but the cinematography is like the finest you will ever see. Someone online claimed the film cost around $15,000 it looks like $100,000 and then some.Extra points for color grading, performances and the score.Corrie Greenop IS the director you need to watch out for.

The British horror film industry is littered with tired irrelevant horror. Low budget tat, regurgitated stories poor performances. But in two days I have been able to see two movies that make the difference. First I saw Death Walks, then I Saw this.In wandering Rose a young couple are on holiday, to get away from it all. He wants sex, she wants a rest, and is clearly disturbed by something.Wandering rose, is a very slow burning horror tale, it flaps about a bit at times, then at others is a series of scenes that just don't motivate. Beyond this though, you have a very clever little tale, that looks every bit as beautiful as movies like Eden Lake, but is shot on a shoestring. Director Greenop, really proves he has the power to be a potential master of horror, much like Johannes Roberts, I suspect he will build as one movie moves on to another, budgets getting higher, stories better.This is a really nice first effort from an amateur filmmaker, soon to become a professional.

Sometimes one wonders: "How can you survive something like this ?". Never was the opening line of a Gorki song so relevant as for this movie (difficult for non Belgian readers, since this is a Belgian band). Because you will surely need perseverance to complete this wannabe horror. Are you expecting a kind of "Rosemary's baby" story ? Well, turn it off because it's nothing like that. I had an inkling already from the beginning with the first paranormal phenomenon (or delusion). This is going to turn out bad because it really looked cheap and old-fashioned. But there were some factors that made sure I didn't classify it immediately in the category "Hopeless cases".First the very successful wide shots of the Scottish landscape. The Scottish Highlands are beautifully portrayed with its hills and idyllic lakes. And when a local resident, who speaks with a blandly Scottish accent, participates in this movie, the big picture is complete. And that's how this film begins. A mobile home driving on a narrow and winding road. A subtle way to show that the place where Rose (Carina Birrell) and Theo (David Wayman) are heading for, lies far from civilization. Total isolation where even a mobile phone can't be used. But admit it. You also can admire such wonderful pictures on "National Geographic".In general "Demon Baby" is far from scary or creepy. The musical accompaniment and sound effects try to create a creepy atmosphere and support the scarce scares. However, they didn't succeed in bringing real frightening moments, because they simply weren't very frightening from the start. A few hazy appearances and knocking sounds (as if the sound technician was banging his huge woolly microphone against something) aren't particularly creepy. There's only one specific moment I would call scary (to a limited extent). But ultimately that's not sufficient enough for a horror / thriller.Next I admired the acting of the for me unknown actress Birrell. Actually, her performance is the reason why I didn't qualify it as an utter crap movie (And no, it's not because of the shower scene). A proper interpretation reflecting the panicky, unstable condition and the uncontrolled mood swings. She's a totally unpredictable character, which makes you constantly wonder whether she's really experiencing paranormal phenomena or her mental decline has something to do with it. Ultimately, this film feels a bit like "The Babadook".This contrasts with the character Theo. Not that Wayman makes a mess out of it. I think the script wasn't that great and he tried to make the best out of it. Theo is an attentive guy who's extremely concerned about his pregnant girlfriend. And although Rose reacts irritated, he tries to make her feel as comfortable as possible. On the other hand he's like a pubescent teenager who can't wait to experience his first sexual contact. Every other minute he tries to seduce his girlfriend to play around a bit (he even gives her some sexy lingerie). After the umpteenth rejection, however, he runs of like a sulky teenager. Not so thoughtful and understanding suddenly. But his thoughtfulness, started to annoy me when Theo asked that same question again. "Are you alright?". Instead of waiting for the constantly recurring answer that Rose gave ("I'm just tired"), I had the urge to shout it out loud as well. I was sick and tired of that bloody stupid question.Not exactly a success story, this British horror experiment. It fails in terms of genre-picking. Is it a horror? Or is it just another psychological thriller? If you look at the poster, you expect a demonic baby to pop out of that swollen belly. Just like in "Alien". Right ? But sorry. No baby. No demon. The best thing you do is to get a bottle of authentic Scottish Whisky, put on some bagpipe music as accompanying background music while putting on a matching kilt. At least you're in the proper mood. Don't expect the movie to do that for you! More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

It's a good thing that the movie was so dull or I would not have had the chance to fully grow to hate Rose's character. Annoying, whiny, dismissive and selfish. I suppose that indicates good acting, that I had such a strong reaction to her?The soundtrack was interesting and had some odd choices, but it fit with the moments. The acting was fair, but very poor on the part of Officer Thwaites. His odd behavior and strange, creepy way of speaking and looking at them had me thinking he would be a "bad guy". Nope - just weird, apparently.The plot was weak and never reached an adequate conclusion in my view. The action scenes were completely random, without enough back story as to why she would act that way. Just crazy? Lame.It passed a (very brief) amount of time while I was working, but not at all worth seeking out or re-watching.