The tightly scripted world of a vlogger and influencer unravels after she becomes a mother in noted playwright Bess Wohl’s feature debut.
Horror movies about babies and pregnancies are usually not scary. Not unless, when they are in the hands of the right director. “Rosemary’s Baby” – the ultimate baby horror – was released in 1968 and has inspired countless rip-offs. It has been 60 years, and no one has come close to memorably replicating or reworking that satanic conspiracy. “Baby Ruby” ’s writer/director Bess Wohl was a former child actor turned playwright. With this film debut, she shows much promise, but her odd aesthetic choices and half-baked story undermine the effort.
Right away, the script for “Baby Ruby” is an expository disappointment. Spencer (Kit Harrington sporting an American accent) and Jo (Noémie Merlant playing a French immigrant) live in an expensive yet isolated home in upstate New York. While Jo is crafting decorations for her baby shower, on the day of the party, her husband Spencer, who has been with her every day, is just now asking: “Isn’t it weird for someone to throw their own Baby shower?” Afterward, Jo and Spencer do some awkward forced-flirting to show the audience how in love they are. I’m not buying it.
Jo is a successful influencer – very common to hate and portray lately in films (and real life). Another recent horror, “Sissy,” the Aussie tongue-in-cheek slasher centered on a maniacal influencer, was one of the best to skewer the questionable career. With a shallow approach exploring online/influencer culture, “Baby Ruby” briefly touches on Jo’s picture-perfect pregnancy beginning to turn dark. Jo’s birth is supposed to be scary or harrowing at the hospital, but the film’s editing is clunky, and the scene is way too over-lit.
On the way home, Jo and Spencer continue to drown in the contrived script:
- Jo: “Why are you only driving only like 20 km per hour?”
- Spencer: “Because I have precious cargo.”
The baby will not stop crying at home, and thankfully “Baby Ruby” gets a bit creepy. In one of the strongest scenes, it’s nighttime, and Ruby finally falls asleep. Then, DING DONG, the doorbell rings waking her up and rightfully pissing Jo off. But when she opens the door – it’s the middle of the day! Wohl’s manipulation of distorted time and place is a great touch and helps put the audience in the shoes of an exhausted parent. And one scene with a bone and the family dog made me gasp.
While out on their first date since the birth, Jo is watching the baby monitor and hears words being repeated into a chant. Then Ruby disappears. This recalled the brilliant but cheap jump-scare in Tom Ford’s trashy yet gorgeous “Nocturnal Animals.” In “Baby Ruby,” this familiar yet chilling moment is undone by Jo running out of the restaurant and turning into Inspector Clouseau. Like the bumbling French detective, she falls over multiple tables and people. For some odd reason, the scene is stretched out into slapstick. This was not her only one, there were a few other times when Jo got hurt, and Wohl directed each one with unintentional comedic flair.
During the aforementioned distortion of reality, Wohl utilizes the famous Vertigo dolly zoom, where you pull the camera back as you zoom in or out on the subject. But unfortunately, Wohl gets too stylish with Rorschach imagery and overemphasizes Jo’s mental deterioration.
Now, back to “Rosemary’s Baby,” where everything pays off. Even the gaslighting of Rosemary that was overdone in the recent “Don’t Worry Darling” is brilliantly written and has a satisfying ending. From demonic cults and tainted chocolate mousse, there are endless things to pour over. In “Baby Ruby,” there are many missed opportunities. For instance, Spencer is an artisanal butcher, and they barely do anything with his profession, that could be quite scary.
You can tell this film wanted to cast Ann Dowd or Margo Martindale but settled for their slight doppelgänger, Jayne Atkinson. Atkinson is good as Spencer’s mother, but I could not stop thinking of her mirroring Dowd’s role in “Hereditary.” Meredith Hagner (who plays one of my favorite characters on one of the best shows, “Search Party”) is cast as a fellow young mom who has some peculiar influences of her own. I was praying for more screen time, but she’s pretty underutilized until a mediocre club scene. Before the club scene, Wohl oddly turns the film into a sexy music video.
Director Wohl is talented, but her “Baby Ruby” lacks cohesion or consistent scares. It doesn’t know what kind of film it wants to be. There are too many stylish choices when it should have stayed more grounded. The distortion of time and reality was very effective, but that’s about it. There’s some commentary on the lack of childcare and community in America that is unfortunately thrown in at the last minute. While it is a worthy comment, it’s too little, too late. Also, if Wohl intended to display the isolation of American motherhood, why are so many people showing up and bothering Jo?
Ultimately, the film throws an assortment of millennial angsts against the wall, and nothing sticks. And since I do not foresee anyone in the near future – or most likely ever – to top or match the brilliance of “Rosemary’s Baby,” maybe it’s time to stop telling these kinds of pregnancy horrors.
In Theaters Friday, February 3rd
