While this film may contain elements that are kitschy and theatrical, it's still grounded in reality just enough to be extremely unsettling and creepy. Indeed, it's a really twisted and perverse story. Healthy people who are being made sick by loved ones is a level of perversion that's hard to fathom, and one that does mirror certain real life cases of abuse that have been quite similar. The difference is here you're putting more than one of these scenarios together, which converge like colliding asteroids.
Ultimately, the story revolves around the fate of one single character "The baby," the subject of intense psychological abuse, and the real question is, who do you root for? At this state, what is the best possible outcome for this character, and under who's control? The moral ambiguity of the whole thing creates a really interesting dynamic, one where you ask yourself. Who are the real bad guys? Are they as bad as they seem? What is the best of all the bad options? Most of all, do these people know that they're bad, and do they actually believe that they're standing up for something righteous?
More to the point, do you even care enough to be invested? Did the director do enough to make you care? The answer to that question I think comes down to the film's obvious limitations. This is a B movie without question, but to me, the premise is so strong that in more capable hands, this really could have been transformed into something groundbreaking.
Again, the biggest limitation by far is "the baby" is very hard to empathize with. The character is almost treated like a prop, and not enough work was done to really bring you into the character's mind. It's obviously an EXTREMELY hard role to pull off convincingly too, and I've got to give props to the amateur actor playing him for putting in a genuinely decent effort.
As to the rest of the cast, the weakest link is probably the blonde haired daughter. She's an adult woman who's clearly meant to have childlike tendencies. This could have added a whole other creepy layer to the thing if there was more skill behind it. The oldest daughter was really well cast, in my opinion, and has a really good look for this movie, portrayed in a subtle mystifying sort of way. She ALMOST seems normal, but there's something extremely off about her, conveyed in the most subtle of ways. The domineering abusive mother, by far plays a large part in selling the premise as a whole. Her performance is grainy, and convincing enough to add a much needed layer of realism to the whole thing.
Again, to remind you that this is still just a B movie, i thought the final showdown, so to speak, wasn't particularly well handled. The action scenes are fairly clumsy without a great conception of the space in which they occur. It all seems very strung together all for the sake of a planned linear sequence of events. If only it was a little more organic and a little less planned. Again, so many complex elements that were hard to put together, but still enough to make this one a classic, and one to remember.
Ultimately, the story revolves around the fate of one single character "The baby," the subject of intense psychological abuse, and the real question is, who do you root for? At this state, what is the best possible outcome for this character, and under who's control? The moral ambiguity of the whole thing creates a really interesting dynamic, one where you ask yourself. Who are the real bad guys? Are they as bad as they seem? What is the best of all the bad options? Most of all, do these people know that they're bad, and do they actually believe that they're standing up for something righteous?
More to the point, do you even care enough to be invested? Did the director do enough to make you care? The answer to that question I think comes down to the film's obvious limitations. This is a B movie without question, but to me, the premise is so strong that in more capable hands, this really could have been transformed into something groundbreaking.
Again, the biggest limitation by far is "the baby" is very hard to empathize with. The character is almost treated like a prop, and not enough work was done to really bring you into the character's mind. It's obviously an EXTREMELY hard role to pull off convincingly too, and I've got to give props to the amateur actor playing him for putting in a genuinely decent effort.
As to the rest of the cast, the weakest link is probably the blonde haired daughter. She's an adult woman who's clearly meant to have childlike tendencies. This could have added a whole other creepy layer to the thing if there was more skill behind it. The oldest daughter was really well cast, in my opinion, and has a really good look for this movie, portrayed in a subtle mystifying sort of way. She ALMOST seems normal, but there's something extremely off about her, conveyed in the most subtle of ways. The domineering abusive mother, by far plays a large part in selling the premise as a whole. Her performance is grainy, and convincing enough to add a much needed layer of realism to the whole thing.
Again, to remind you that this is still just a B movie, i thought the final showdown, so to speak, wasn't particularly well handled. The action scenes are fairly clumsy without a great conception of the space in which they occur. It all seems very strung together all for the sake of a planned linear sequence of events. If only it was a little more organic and a little less planned. Again, so many complex elements that were hard to put together, but still enough to make this one a classic, and one to remember.