The Baby Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		1.5

The Baby Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 28, 2018

If you’re a believer in karma, then it’s quite possible you’ll come to the conclusion that I must have done something extremely naughty in a former life since I am now on my second round of reviewing The Baby. Certainly one of the weirder “horror” movies ever made, The Baby came out in an edition released by Severin Films several years ago that engendered the ire of at least one member (who wrote a User Review) lamenting the cropping of an open matte image. That member should be pleased to hear that Arrow’s new release contains both a widescreen and “full frame” version of the film, but if I may be permitted a moment of cheekiness, if the aspect ratio of The Baby is your primary concern after having watched the film, you might want to consider talking to a licensed professional (this is a joke, in case that’s not clear). The Baby concerns a gonzo family which has kept an infantile acting male in swaddling clothes, not to mention a crib, this despite the fact that he’s at least in his twenties and possibly even older. The film relates the “adventures” of a social worker assigned to the case, and includes a little twist at the end which will strike some as fancifully original and others as outright bizarre and possibly even questionable.

For those wanting a plot summary of this decidedly odd film, I refer you to my original The Baby Blu-ray review.

The Baby Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Baby is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.37 and 1.78:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains only some fairly generic verbiage about the transfers:

The Baby was remastered in High Definition by Ignite Films from the original 35mm film and audio materials. The film was shot in full frame open matte and is presented in both 1.78:1 and 1:37:1 aspect ratios with its original mono soundtrack.

Once again, I would have loved at least a little more information, since one of the things that struck me was that the two versions here look decidedly different, above and apart from aspect ratios. As can perhaps be made out by a few of the 1.78:1 screenshots, color is rather faded at times, with a "dupey" look that tends to add a grayish undertone to things. Grain is also coarser and less finely resolved. The 1.37:1 version looks much warmer, with less damage and a more finely resolved grain field, along with what I feel are better overall detail levels.

The Baby Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Baby features an LPCM Mono track that to my ears was more or less interchangeable with the LPCM 2.0 mono track I assessed in our The Baby Blu-ray review of the Severin version.

The Baby Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Travis Crawford


• A Family Affair (1080p; 5:43) is a 2018 interview with actress Marianna Hill.


• Nursery Crimes (1080p; 6:27) is a 2018 interview with Stanley Dyrector, who did the paintings found in Baby's bedroom.


• Down Will Come Baby (1080p; 12:01) is a retrospective by professor Rebekah McKendry.


• Tales From the Crib (1080p; 20:00) is an archival audio interview with director Ted Post that plays to scenes from the film.


• Baby Talk (14:41) is an archival audio interview with actor David Mooney.


• Original Trailer (1080p; 2:15)

Additionally Arrow has also provided a nicely appointed insert booklet.

The Baby Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Original aspect ratio fans will probably want to opt for this version over the Severin, and Arrow has also upped the ante by providing some good supplements. The 1.78:1 version included on this disc looks relatively ragged compared to the open matte version, and in fact looks considerably different from the 1.78:1 version offered by Severin.