Angel Baby

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.

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.

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.

I am neither cast or crew on this film. That being said, for an independent film, this Thriller/Suspence had my wife and I hooked from the beginning. My wife inparticular, usually falls asleep while watching TV at night, but this movie had her full attention as well as mine. We both had two "Oh sh!%" moments and at the exact same time. The movie had us in full debate and even question our predictions on who was who, and what was going to happen next. The ending had me and my wife asking..."Who the Heck was that?" To see what I mean, you need to watch the movie. When all is said and done, I recommend this movie to those who love Suspence. The ending is open for debate if a sequel will be made. We will see.