Angel Baby

A nice entry into a more cerebral, psychological horror. I went into this not knowing what exactly to expect as this is Mr. Tait's directorial debut. It is not perfect by any means, but I felt it was quite entertaining and the ending is open to your own interpretation. To this end, I like and was pleasantly surprised. There is nice dramatic moments, and a nice uneasiness that sustains the length and direction of the film. While there could have been more outright frightful moments, The acting was solid, and overall the movie carried you to the climax upon its set path and pace. Acting was solid.

Film opens with two preteen children retaliating against their father's abuse by doing him in with a hammer. Years later a woman , Val, receives the sad news the twins she gave birth to didn't survive. This motivates her and her husband, a contractor, to move to the country where she can tolerate the noise level after acquiring some odd affliction that makes her sensitive to sound. From there on, sound plays no part in the plot.

Val spends many hours walking around house, occasionally disturbed by mysterious sounds and the specter of some middle-aged guy.

Her friend, Chloe, the doctor who unsuccessfully delivered her twins pops by to stay with the couple for the weekend and help nurse Val back to health. The locals introduce themselves over the next few days. Rebecca De Mornay plays the town's local bartender, dishing out unsolicited pearls of wisdom about marriage. Val continues to roam the house, uncovering a music box containing a spinning ballerina figure. It has nothing really to do with plot but I guess the director of this trite was paying homage to the time honored tradition of "heroine finding a music box; what does it mean?". Val also finds a novel with the same title as the movie's. It's significance? Not much but extends movie by 5 minutes of dialogue and low key action involving the disposal of the book.

The end of the movie just kind of ends; it's almost like everyone involved was paid by the hour but not for overtime, so plot came to a rushed conclusion, with some questions unanswered, including why the film was called "Angel Baby" since there wasn't one.

It was so listless and silly you may actually want to watch it to the end to see if it gets any worse. BTW. From the credit roll, it appears many involved in making it worked at least two jobs producing it. I am beginning to think that included 'Positive Reviewer'.

I really enjoyed the build up, the film kept me engaged. Isabel's performance was awesome and even though Rebecca De Mornay was only in the film for a short bit, her performace was amazing . If you are a fan of psychological horror this is the film for you. The film has a great setting, a creepy cabin in the woods. What could go wrong right? The setting and ambience add to the overall tension and arc of the film.

This was the first feature film directed by horror icon Doug Tait and I was really impressed with his shot selection and overall feel of the film. I would definitely recommend this film.

Angel Baby pretends to be a grief-soaked cabin chiller, but it mostly feels like watching paint dry in the dark. Dialogue is wooden, performances flatter than the freeway Val flees, and the script borrows every haunted-house beat without adding pulse. This movie pretends to cradle grief and dread, yet spends an hour trudging through colourless corridors where nothing, and no one, is alive. Every haunted-cabin beat-creaks, music-box, shadow figure-plays like bargain-bin déjà vu, shot in flat TV gloss. A last-minute twist finally flickers, but it's too skinny to nourish the 105 empty minutes before it. Save it for laundry day when you crave lightweight horror wallpaper and can't reach the remote.

Oh Yes! Rebecca De Mornay give me some Risky Business!!!!

So a couple goes on a retreat to a cabin in the woods! As we all know, nothing bad ever happens at a cabin in the woods! There is no safer place to be than in a cabin in the woods!!! Plus, this really saves on a movie's budget since you don't need to have a lot of extras and face it, filming in the city is expensive!

Of course early on we get a rule breaker, -1 Star for a bathtub scene with no nudity shown. We don't like that. It's so unnecessary.

Then Rebecca shows up. Wow this movie is halfway over and nothing has happened -1 Star.

LAter on there is a sex scene, until of course the demon or whatever reveals. And again, no nudity. Another rule broken -1 Star

So when is the horror supposed to start here?

Okay so there's a fight at the end that is somewhat entertaining. But the end is not good enough for a star.

2/10.