Fantasia 2013 – “Hell Baby” (2013) – Vulgar, Inappropriate & Hilarious

There’s plenty of room in the horror genre for comedy horror without it being a spoof like Scary Movie or A Haunted House. Genuine horror comedies like House, Shaun of the Dead, Evil Dead 2, and the rest of their ilk are truly entertaining and enjoyable for all horror fans who like to laugh at themselves and their obsessions. Sure, these movies are often parodies, which are different from spoofs, mind you, but that’s their genius. They take the cliche and turn it on its head.

The crowd at Montreal’s Fantasia 2013 might have been split in its opinion after the screening of Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon’s Hell Baby, but the audience frequently roared with laughter at the self-aware often slapstick humor in the darkened theater while the film played.

If there’s any criticism to be had about Hell Baby, it’s that the film may have been too self-aware at times and some jokes were repeated unnecessarily, such as the two cops and their interrogative routine as well as the po-boy bit. Then again, all that is part of this film’s charm.

The list of classic, legitimate films that Hell Baby parodies is practically endless, from The Exorcist to Rosemary’s Baby to The Omen to The Shining to The Amityville Horror to Poltergeist, few are excluded. The end result, however, is a highly entertaining original film that’s fun for genre fans or not.

Horror movies aren’t the only victims taking punches from Hell Baby. Any expectant parents out there should find humor in the parallels this movie draws to their lives. The months before become a parent are filled with nightmarish angst, and this movie definitely rips into those congested intestines.

From the bent minds of RENO 911 creators, Garant and Lennon, comes a tale of a happy and very pregnant couple, Jack and Vanessa (Rob Corddry and Leslie Bibb) moving into La Maison de Sang (House of Blood), which happens to be New Orleans’ most haunted house. In addition to having an imposing neighbor, F’Resnel (Keegan Michael Key), tons of weird things happen, like getting a blowjob from 90-year-old woman, smoking priests, and getting oiled up by your naked sister-in-law. Little by little, Vanessa becomes increasingly possessed and gives birth to twins — one of them is not of this Earth.

The Verdict: [rating:4]

If you like raunchy humor and can stomach an extended vomit scene, baby-punching priests, tons of F-bombs, some racial comedy, and inappropriate maternal humor, Hell Baby might be for you. It certainly was for Yell! Magazine.

Rock Hard \m/