Angel Baby

Angel Baby (2023), directed by Douglas Tait, is a chilling, slow-burn psychological horror that hits hard and lingers long after the credits roll. It's not just a film-it's an experience, one that grips you emotionally from the very first frame.

What makes this story stand out is its ability to balance emotional realism with an eerie, slow-burning atmosphere. The performances are stunning-so deeply human and vulnerable that you forget you're watching actors. Every moment feels lived-in, every silence meaningful.

Tait's direction is sharp and intimate, letting the tension simmer without ever relying on clichés. The pacing is deliberate and rewarding, allowing the dread to grow organically. Visually, the film is absolutely gorgeous. The remote setting is both haunting and breathtaking, amplifying the characters' isolation and emotional unraveling.

This isn't a jump-scare horror movie-it's something much deeper. It creeps under your skin and stays there, exploring grief, fear, and love in a way that feels uniquely personal and unsettling.

If you're a fan of emotionally driven thrillers with haunting visuals and character depth, Angel Baby is a must-watch.

This is neither a great movie, nor a real stinker. In a house where an abuser father is about to seriously harm one of his children, the daughter steps up and puts a bloody stop it to. We then are introduced to Val, who just lost her twins in pregnancy, and her husband Justin. She has a friend Chloe who gives her support, has some medical training, and wants to make sure she takes her medicine to help her healing, and also get plenty of rest. After all, Val is crestfallen over the loss, and she is also sensitive to noise, which isn't helped by living just off a freeway. Justin, who does handy work, finds a cabin in the mountains that had been empty for 25 years, fixes it up some and they move there. Things start to go bump in the night, there are creaks, doors suddenly open and there seems to be a ghost of a man present. A book titled Angel Baby seems to be prominent, and also movies around a lot, but where it came from is an unknown. While Rebecca DeMornay gets prominent space on the cover art, she has little more than a cameo. Things get worse when Chloe makes a visit, and seems too involved with Justin. By then, many may already have worked out a scenario, but the twist is something many would not see coming, and helps elevate what could be a routine and boring film.

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'.

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.

Horrible acting, stupid characters. Who gave the "doctor" her medical degree? And more importantly,who in their right mind would use her as a doctor? Also as a wife,it would have taken me 10 minutes to tell her to get the hell out of my house! Then the husband and "doctor" go to town and the wife wants to go but the husbands response is "you need rest" and the wife just stays???? WTH? She obviously and rightfully didn't trust the woman. Nothing ever really happens, nothing is explained. The book isn't explained,the jewelry box isn't explained. Total waste of time. Not really sure what else to say except skip it, unless of course you need a good nap!