Monstrous births
A sub-section of body horror movies, that deal with killer babies, freakish pregnancies and other birth-related strangeness. Films that put the 'terror' in 'teratology'.
Further reading: Womb Monsters slideshow and Scahill, Andrew (2010) "Deviled Eggs: Teratogenesis and the Gynecological Gothic in the Cinema of Monstrous Birth." in Bienstock Anolik, Ruth (ed.) Demons of the Body and Mind: Essays on Disability in Gothic Literature. McFarland. Pages 197-216. ISBN 978-0-7864-3322-3.
See also: Someone else has a list for evil kids, if you want to know what happens when these terrible tykes grow-up (hint: nothing good).
Further reading: Womb Monsters slideshow and Scahill, Andrew (2010) "Deviled Eggs: Teratogenesis and the Gynecological Gothic in the Cinema of Monstrous Birth." in Bienstock Anolik, Ruth (ed.) Demons of the Body and Mind: Essays on Disability in Gothic Literature. McFarland. Pages 197-216. ISBN 978-0-7864-3322-3.
See also: Someone else has a list for evil kids, if you want to know what happens when these terrible tykes grow-up (hint: nothing good).
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- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
- DirectorLarry CohenStarsJohn P. RyanSharon FarrellAndrew DugganThe Davises are expecting a baby, which turns out to be a monster with a nasty habit of killing people whenever it is scared. And it is easily scared.
- DirectorOvidio G. AssonitisRoberto D'Ettorre PiazzoliStarsJuliet MillsRichard JohnsonGabriele LaviaJuliet Mills plays a young pregnant woman in San Francisco who is going to have the devil's baby during her strange possession. Richard Johnson shows up to help her... but what does he really want?
- DirectorPeter SasdyStarsJoan CollinsEileen AtkinsRalph BatesA woman gives birth to a baby, but this is no ordinary one. The child is seemingly possessed by the Devil.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsRock HudsonBarbara CarreraDiane LaddA scientist (Rock Hudson) doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days. All is not well though as the child begins to exhibit some horrific tendencies.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newborn mutant child.
- DirectorDonald CammellStarsJulie ChristieFritz WeaverGerrit GrahamA scientist creates Proteus--an organic super computer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator's wife.
- DirectorWilliam GirdlerStarsTony CurtisSusan StrasbergMichael AnsaraA psychic's girlfriend finds out that a lump on her back is a growing reincarnation of a 400-year-old demonic Native American spirit.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsOliver ReedSamantha EggarArt HindleA man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtAfter investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.The scene with John Hurt scared (and inspired) a generation.
- DirectorBarbara PeetersJimmy T. MurakamiStarsDoug McClureAnn TurkelVic MorrowHumanoid sea creatures start killing a fishing town's residents, and raping their women. It's up to the townsfolk and a visiting biologist to fight back and fend them off.
- DirectorNorman J. WarrenStarsRobin ClarkeJennifer AshleyStephanie BeachamA crew of interplanetary archaeologists is threatened when an alien creature impregnates one of their members, causing her to turn homicidal and murder them one by one.This, according to Scahill, marks the end of the "cinema of monstrous birth," at least the most fertile period ripe for analysis - there are still plenty of post-1981 films in this are that manage to delight and appal.
- DirectorHarry Bromley DavenportStarsPhilip SayerBernice StegersDanny BraininAn alien creature impregnates a woman who gives birth to a man who was abducted by aliens three years ago. The man reconnects with his wife and son for a sinister purpose.
- DirectorHung-Chuen LauStarsEddie ChanYung-Chang ChinPak-Kwong HoA woman becomes possessed and dies after a monster is released from an antique vase she had purchased. Twelve years later the monster is re-awakened. First he possesses the family's dog, before moving on to the woman's nephew.aka Devil Fetus
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeff GoldblumGeena DavisJohn GetzA brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsTerry PotterPete O'HerneCraig SmithThe population of a small town disappears and is replaced by aliens that chase human flesh for their intergalactic fast-food chain.Oh Peter Jackson, how we miss the ends of your films which involve weird 'births.'
- DirectorThierry NotzStarsAndrew StevensStarr AndreeffGeorge KennedyWhen chemical warfare leaves the world barren and filled with mutated monsters, a band of survivors in an underground complex battle one of the creatures that was able to break in.
- DirectorAlain RobakStarsEmmanuelle EscourrouChristian SinnigerJean-François GallotteWhen a strange creature crawls into a woman's uterus she becomes a killer in order to feed the tiny terror growing within her.
- DirectorRodman FlenderStarsBrooke AdamsJeff HayengaJames KarenA couple struggling to conceive visit a miracle doctor as a last hope for having a child. The wife gets pregnant, but after the initial joy comes horror, as she slowly discovers the nightmarish truth behind the doctor's success.
- DirectorFrank HenenlotterStarsKevin VanHentenryckAnnie RossGil RoperDuane recovers from his delusional breakdown to find his freakish basket-bound brother Belial will soon become a father. But not everything is joyous as the once tight knit brothers no longer seem to trust each other.aka Basket Case 3: The Progeny
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsTimothy BalmeDiana PeñalverElizabeth MoodyA young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors."Bad Taste" could have just been an accident but in the ending of this film the main protagonist is 'born' from his own mother, again. Analyse that.
- DirectorRudolf van den BergStarsMonique van de VenEsmée de la BretonièreKenneth HerdigeinAccording to an ancient Indian tale a giant monster embryo residing in a crystal vase is predetermined to fertilize a blue-eyed woman. She will give birth to something evil to unleash horror and destruction upon human kind. Ugly septuplet brothers reproduced within the framework of mysterious genetic experiments terrorize a young innocent girl who seems to be chosen for the sinister predestination.
- DirectorJim GroomStarsMichael BalfourSamantha PerkinsJackie D. BroadFarmer impregnates goat. Goat gives birth to mutant offspring, Billy. Farmer's sons torment Billy, while daughter sympathizes. As Billy grows, he seeks revenge against his tormentors.
- DirectorAnthony HickoxStarsJulian SandsChris YoungPaula MarshallAn order of Druids train their children to battle an evil Warlock determined to unleash Satan upon the world by bringing a collection of five mystic rune stones together.
- DirectorRick JacobsonStarsMichele GreeneRobin CurtisScott ValentineA sinister fertility experiment has created a generation of twisted children. A relentless woman has made it her business to destroy these mutant babies before they destroy the world! One mother and her only friend are torn between love an repulsion of this deformed being and are ready to fight for it's survival, but this baby doesn't need love. It's been programmed to survive at any cost.
