Big Baby (2025) Review
Nightmares of a maniacal killer wearing a baby mask inspire a writer’s new screenplay. But as his life begins to spiral out of control, he discovers that Big Baby’s murderous rampage may be more than mere fiction.
Online reaction to Big Baby appears mixed, but I found plenty to enjoy in its old-school approach. This is an uncomplicated slasher that wears its Friday the 13th influences proudly, and it has the feel of one of those obscure titles you might have taken a chance on back in the days of video rental stores, simply because the cover looked interesting enough to warrant a weekend viewing.
Written and directed by Spider One (born Michael Cummings), the film stars Brandon Scott as screenwriter Adam Lewis, who is already beginning to unravel when two young podcasters brutally savage a movie he has written. Fortunately, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill slasher, otherwise those podcasters would surely have met a much grislier fate at the hands of the titular killer. Instead, Adam’s response is considerably more restrained, with the pair receiving a hot drink thrown in their faces at a coffee shop.
The film keeps you guessing about whether Adam himself could be responsible for the increasingly violent events unfolding around him, maintaining an intriguing sense of uncertainty as reality and imagination begin to blur. Is Big Baby actually on a murderous rampage, or is something altogether different happening inside Adam’s increasingly troubled mind? The eventual resolution is satisfying enough and, importantly, doesn’t leave the mystery feeling completely cheated.
There are, inevitably, a few of those familiar horror-movie ‘idiot’ moments. At one point, a couple decide that the sensible course of action is to confront someone behaving in an increasingly unhinged manner while wielding a large knife, rather than simply calling the police. But then, if horror characters consistently made sensible decisions, we’d have considerably fewer horror movies to watch.
Spider One has previously worked with actress and producer Krsy Fox, who plays Adam’s partner Kate, on Little Bites, and their collaboration here results in a film that is, above all else, a lot of fun. It certainly isn’t perfect, but then very few films are. What it does manage to do is retain a level of intrigue and mystery while remaining straightforward and entertaining. It’s also well assembled, with enough uncertainty surrounding Adam’s predicament to keep you invested.
Adding an unexpected touch of celebrity involvement, Cher—yes, that Cher—serves as an executive producer, while her son Chaz Bono apparently makes a small appearance.
Big Baby won’t reinvent the slasher genre, nor does it need to. Instead, it embraces the straightforward, slightly scruffy charm of the kind of horror film you might once have picked up from a video-store shelf with little more than the title and cover art to go on. For me, that nostalgic, uncomplicated approach works in its favour.
Is Big Baby really out there, or is Adam simply losing his grip on reality? Either way, this one proved to be a surprisingly enjoyable slice of old-school horror fun.
Big Baby will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital from 7th September