This Thursday, in another “Maitland Favorites” worth your taking a look, we have one of the ultimate movies for sheer fucked-up-ness: The Baby. Ted Post (Clint Eastwood’s Hang ’em High and Magnum Force, the cult-classic The Harrad Experiment) directed this 1973 psycho-horror trip to domestic Hell. A social worker becomes deeply involved in the case of a young man who appears to have the mind of a pre-verbal child, and who can't even walk — only crawl. Her suspicions about the family are justified. But it she helping or only making matters worse?
Upcoming: Not necessarily for review but to keep you informed of new releases in the genre:
Speak No Evil
James McAvoy talks about his role as the monstrous but very hospitable Paddy in writer-director James Watkins’ suspense thriller from Blumhouse, opening theatrically on Sept. 13.
Bagman
As a boy, Patrick McKee (Sam Claflin) escaped death at the hand of a malevolent mythical creature: the Bagman, who snatches innocent children and stuffs them into his vile, rotting bag, never to be seen again. Now Patrick’s son Jake (Caréll Rhoden) is the new target. Opens in theaters Sept. 30.
The Path
A young woman (Tess Hanna) whose parents are killed in a car crash returns home to care for her younger sister and help manage the family farm. She soon begins to suffer strange and unsettling moments that grow into inexplicable and terrifying events. It’s from Irish-American filmmaker-actor Tom Archdeacon, so we’re expecting some lyricism along with the horrific happenings. Debuts on streaming and on demand Sept. 24.
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“The Baby” is an exploitation favorite! I paired it with “Toys Are Not For Children” for an odd but entertaining double feature. Love how this made it into Edgar Wright’s fake “Don’t” trailer for “Grindhouse”!