Baby doesn't walk! Baby doesn't talk!

The Baby
(1973)

This was...not what I expected. First,70s flicks aren't really known for an excessive amount of gore.  They tend to be more about suspense, emotional and psychological horrors...or they're supernatural naked witchfests. Sometimes, both. Second, they're always a little weird: odd people, odd places, odd circumstances. Truly, 70s cinema is like the birthplace of the off-kilter - or at the very least, the whelp box. That said, this was one part social services drama and one part dysfunctional family horror - like Sybil meets The Last House On the Left.

Nosy social worker Ann Gentry visits the Wadsworth home, fascinated by the strange case of man-child, Baby. Baby, who does not speak or function above the level of a young toddler, is kept in a crib or playpen most of the day. He's tended to by his domineering, abusive mother, and two trashy sisters - one of whom is a sadist and the other, who "comforts" him via sexual molestation. Really, this house has it all. Mama and her daughters even beat the snot out of a babysitter.

Mama Wadsworth has it out for Ann, who is obsessed with proving Baby's condition is the result of years of Mama's abuse. The two lock horns and scheming ensues. Ann - whose name means "merciful, of noble birth" (keep that in mind) - wants to see Baby free of Mama's control and threatens an investigation and custody battle. Mama fires back by inviting her to Baby's birthday party. Now would you really accept? Ann does. However, this movie does not end the way I expected. I mean I understand the motive - kinda - but I'm still like, "Wait..what the fu..?" I'm on the fence about how feel. It's definitely a discussion piece.

By the way, for some people on welfare, the Wadswords lived in a really nice big house in the 'burbs .

Verdict: Strange

Best line/Best scene: Honestly, this was too weird to pick one. Although, the scene where the mother-in-law comes out of nowhere dressed like a Satanist was pretty memorable. Thank God that fashion statement didn't survive.

I give it a 9 for originality.