Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Hell Baby Blu-ray Movie Review

Hella-good, hella-bad, or somewhere in hella-Purgatory?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 17, 2013

There are a handful of obvious warning flags that help single out the worst of the worst, tell-tale signs that may as well be lit up in neon that shout "stay away!" from a movie, that portend not cinema greatness but rather a fairly miserable picture that's trying to lure in an unsuspecting audience that hasn't been forewarned. Consider this a friendly primer in spotting bad movies.

• The movie is billed as a Horror-Comedy-Parody. When do these things ever work? not very often, that's for sure.
• There's a big, cockeyed "stamp" on the home video box that says "UNRATED," usually in red letters.
• The home video box prominently features a blurb that says the film in question was made by the same person or people who made some other, probably slightly better, movie or television show (it's only a matter of time until a box says "catered by the same person who catered lunch one day for the cast and crew of The Butler!).

Welcome to your new home...in hell!

Separately, none of those spell doom. Many great movies have enjoyed the Horror-Comedy angle, plenty of quality films are released as an "unrated" edition (which is often code for "director's cut" or "added footage;" in essence, the film wasn't re-submitted to the MPAA with its new footage intact) and it's always smart to remind people that great filmmakers have made great movies, that Steven Spielberg made Raiders of the Lost Ark and Peter Jackson made The Fellowship of the Ring. Combined, however, these three attributes usually spell doom for a movie. Hell Baby is certainly no exception. One could even make a case for the name serving as a fourth warning sign, those words conjuring up some crazy scenario of the newborn going all Dawn of the Dead baby zombie on a bunch of people. Oh, wait. Truth be told, though, Hell Baby is practically Oscar material next to trash like Ghost Team One and Scary Movie 647,349,543,290,008, but it's certainly a flawed picture with minimal and repetitious laughs inside a terribly transparent plot.

In Hell Baby, Rob Corddry and Leslie Bibb star as Jack and Vanessa, a married couple moving into a dilapidated home on the wrong side of town. It's a real fixer-upper and it'll sure look good once the blood has been scrubbed away from its floors and the MS-13 graffiti has been removed from its exterior. She's about to pop with twins, and he's fixated on fixing an old lamp he found up in the attic. Everything seems as normal as it can until they meet their neighbor, a come-and-go-at-will sort named F'resnel (Keegan-Michael Key) who tells them of the home's troubled past and its many nicknames, including "house of blood," "place where the dead never rest," "house of the lost," and "spooky old house on down the way.". The couple seems unfazed, but when Vanessa begins behaving oddly and Jack is visited by a demonic-looking naked old woman, they begin to worry. It quickly becomes clear that all is not well in the home. While two police officers (Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer) harass the couple, with two priests (Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon) dispatched from overseas to save them, and with Vanessa's progressive sister Marjorie (Riki Lindhome) en route to "bless" the home, Jack begins to piece together the truth about the life he's living, a truth that could have dire consequences for all involved.

In the grand scheme of things, Hell Baby is a wholly inconsequential film without wide appeal. It's the sort of movie that's easy to make on-the-cheap and that'll probably make a decent return on investment considering the broader success of the Horror-Comedy-Parody sub-genre, appealing to audiences inclined to enjoy these types of movies. As far as "these types of movies" go, Hell Baby is not a disaster. Though it does slow down quite a bit in places as it repeats jokes almost ad nauseam (think the vomiting scene, the sandwich-eating scenes, and all the times F'resnel and Jack scare one another), it does enjoy a rather grounded sense of humor, leaving behind all of the popular culture riffs and general obnoxious trends of the other movies of its kind. It aims for a more subtle brand of humor, at least a good portion of the time, not often beating its audience into submission but rather teasing its plot and character arcs all the way towards the end. The finale, too, drags on a bit too long, and the payoff is nothing that savvy audiences (not to mention anyone who knows the title of the movie) can't see coming from the very beginning. The performances are fine, and that push towards a more subtle sense of humor certainly helps save the movie from falling into the trap of nauseating low-brow and no-thought humor that dominates most other movies of this variety.

Hell Baby Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hell Baby's high definition transfer satisfies in all areas. The HD video-sourced presentation delivers a typical higher end experience, yielding bold, even colors and well-defined details. The palette appears natural and robust, showing all variety of shades -- from brightly colored graffiti against the grayish home exterior to blue police uniform shirts -- with natural, even, pleasing tones. Detail is excellent, aided by both the Blu-ray resolution and the strong image clarity. The dilapidated house exterior, brick interiors, and facial textures all impress with a tactile, realistic appearance. Black levels are strong and flesh tones appear natural across the board. Very light noise and banding interferes in a few shots, but overall this is a very strong, accurate presentation from Millennium Entertainment.

Hell Baby Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hell Baby features a good, and rather genre-typical, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Opening bass is heavy and tends to vibrate at the bottom of the scale, notably during film's open. Musical delivery is even and nicely spaced across a fairly broad range of styles, from tribal drums heard during a pot smoking scene in chapter eight to flowing chorus song in chapter nine. Some genre-typical ambient thunder effects roll nicely along the stage and play with a quality, deep low end. The chaotic final sequence offers a nice array of action-comedy sound effects. Dialogue is delivered firmly and accurately from the center. It's not a memorable track in any way, but it's proficient all around and satisfies the movie's requirements with ease.

Hell Baby Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Hell Baby contains two separate gag reels and a large collection of deleted scenes, all presented in 480i.

• Deleted Scenes (SD): Anaconda (1:43), Cable Guy in Van (2:34), F'resnel in Closet (1:37), Mexico Scene (1:19), Police Interrogation (4:33), Fire Extinguisher (2:21), Crawlspace Scene (8:30), Short Deleted Scenes (1:30), and Weed Smoking Improv (3:38).
• Gag Reels (SD): Goof Reel (5:19) and Rawdog Radio Comedy (8:33).
• Previews: Additional offerings from Millennium Entertainment.

Hell Baby Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hell Baby isn't a particularly good movie, but it's so much better than the dreck that is most of its peers that it's practically Oscar material in comparison. The movie gets a bit too slow and repetitive at times, there's not a unusual or twisty ending, and it's not that funny or scary, but chances are genre fans will find a good bit to like. However, audiences that generally despise these sorts won't find a sudden awakening and conversion in Hell Baby, and more conservative-minded audiences certainly won't enjoy anything the movie has to offer. Millennium Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Hell Baby offers quality video and audio. Deleted scenes comprise most of the extras. A recommended watch for true genre fans, recommended as a skip for others.