The Baby

PG

1973

1h 42m

Horror

List

93%

Tomatometer

15 Reviews

52%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

A social worker (Anjanette Comer) tries to save a teen from his mother (Ruth Roman), who keeps him in diapers and a crib.

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

The Baby, though marketed as horror, plays out as a deranged women's picture, its melodrama modulated to the rhythms of errant maternity.

Sep 24, 2018

Full Review

Noel Murray

The Dissolve

The film [is] a warped mirror on American family life, depicting parenting as an act of grotesque selfishness.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 14, 2014

Full Review

Maitland McDonagh

Film Comment Magazine

There's a master's thesis on The Baby waiting to be written and I'll be first in line to read it, but not because I expect to find the film's provocations tamed or its utter bizarreness gently folded into the seething swamp of things that make us go hmm.

Nov 12, 2013

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Even by the standards of early-'70s cinema, The Baby is one odd puppy.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 2, 2020

Full Review

Gabriel Ricard

Cultured Vultures

One of the most surreal black comedies of the 1970s, The Baby is must-see cult film cinema for anyone who truly loves such things.

Rated: 8/10

Oct 29, 2019

Full Review

Michelle Kisner

The Movie Sleuth

At the risk of sounding cliche, they just don't make 'em like this anymore--there's no way a concept this controversial and outlandish would get green-lit let alone be given a competent director.

Nov 6, 2018

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michael b

Very-Very Sick Movie.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I remember watching this years ago and it left an unusual impression Director Ted Post disguises a dark family drama as a horror film, one that fits more in the trashy cinema genre even after 50 years with him being a tv director mostly The title would suggest it's about an infant like any other but this is a special case in itself...the baby is actually a full-grown adult! Yep he's been raised since childbirth to keep the mental capacity and mannerisms of an actual baby by his crazy mother Mrs. Wadsworth and her two daughters Her husband was in a car accident and she tries to make ends meet with the social services income A social worker Anne comes to their house taking a special interest but right away sees this family's screwed up lifestyle This movie is way more messed up than you'd imagine, it's not scary or bloody but psychologically unnerving; 'Baby' as he's called played by David Manzy gives quite a lasting performance being someone who can't grow up He's sympathetic yet tragic at the same time He conveys the right amount of confusion, longing, and desperation You can certainly tell who's really the unstable individuals as Mrs. Wadsworth is fine with the way she's looking after her son even when someone from the government is genuinely concerned It's easy to tell when someone is clearly being exploited or abused The film is very deranged in various aspects with many scenes of the mother punishing her boy if he can't behave or do what he's told We are allowed to carry the absurdity of demented parenting And the family dynamic is more along the lines of horror flicks of the 70s heyday This comes off as way more psychosexual drama of women taking control over the man in their life using dark maternity They even lay out the cons Baby has the luck of avoiding not developing normally, he's spared court dates, desk jobs, etc. The ending is just wow...after it's all over it leaves quite an impact This won't be for everyone given how dark the premise is but man is it hard to forget It's must-see cult 1970s cinema

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/13/23

Full Review

Renee R

This is a little gem from the 1970s I hadn't heard of until today. And now I am happy I have seen it. The less you know in advance about the plot, the more enjoyable your first watch will be. I'll just say that the acting, writing and direction are top, and that the story gets you hooked the more bizarre it gets. A must-see for movie lovers.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/20/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Classic. One of my favorites. The acting is, at times, poor but, overall this picture portrays the struggles, discrimination, stereotyping and liberation of man-babies and their handlers in the early 1970's

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

andrey k

Actually, as we 'progress' this movie becomes less and less weird and strange, am I right? What we see now is infantilizing of society, especially of men. So this film was no shock for me at all, even though back then it might have impressed as being sickly exploitative; now you only shake your head as to how much of truth you see that is germane to our today condition of the world.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

delysid d

Inside the world of 70s man-babies and the murderous women who love them. Really weird!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/02/17

Full Review

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Ted Post

Director

Anjanette Comer

Ann Gentry

Ruth Roman

Mrs. Wadsworth

Marianna Hill

Germaine Wadsworth

Susanne Zenor

Alba Wadsworth

David Mooney

Baby

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Synopsis

A social worker (Anjanette Comer) tries to save a teen from his mother (Ruth Roman), who keeps him in diapers and a crib.

Director: Ted Post
Screenwriter: Abe Polsky
Production Co: Quintet Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 20, 2017
Runtime: 1h 42m

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