The Baby in the Basket follows a nunnery located on an isolated island in Scotland during WWII. The nuns themselves all have various issues they're working through, which would be enough to make a great reality show, but not a movie. Enter an abandoned baby in a basket left on the nunnery's doorstep. One of the nuns, Agnes (Amber Doig-Thorne) thinks the devil is afoot, and she wants to kill the baby; while the Mother Superior (Maryam d'Abo) thinks this is her one chance to be a mother in the more literal sense. Who's right? And who will be left alive for it even to matter?
As I said on the pod episode, I really enjoyed this. It feels like old Hammer Horror, but where a Hammer film would've focused on Nathan Shepka's caretaker, as it would've probably been the Oliver Reed part, here he's more of a supporting character in favor of the nuns, which makes it a more modern take on Hammer Horror that I appreciated. Black Narcissus is another one that comes to mind, and even though it's not a direct sequel, Maryam d'Abo's Mother Superior is like what Sister Clodagh would've been doing years later after she left the Himalayas. I don't know that any of this works though without the great job from the cast. Beyond turning in professional performances, it felt like the actors were really enjoying the craft of acting, which for me as a viewer makes the experience more enjoyable too. That's what I want from a fun, Saturday night movie, and this delivers.
This is the second Shepka-Jolliffe collaboration we've covered here, after When Darkness Falls--which we've also covered on the pod, both on episode 122 when we talked about this, and 103. I don't know that I can say I like one better than the other, because they're both pretty different. This is more traditional horror, while When Darkness Falls is a slow-burn thriller. But they both worked for me, and if I extend that out to Renegades and Cinderella's Revenge, two others that Jolliffe has written that we've reviewed, and Lock and Load and Dead Before They Wake, two other films that Shepka has directed and produced (Dead Before They Wake he co-directed with Andy Crane, who co-directed this as well), that's six movies that run the gamut of styles and genres, but all movies I enjoyed. Their next one is in production now, Death Among the Pines, and I can't wait to check that one out too. If these other ones are any indication, it should be another fun time!
One of the standout performances for me was Michaela Longden, because of how her character's story arc went. She comes in and establishes herself as the nun who's troubled and questioning her faith, then she leaves the film to go back to the mainland, and comes back for the last 45 minutes or so while all hell is breaking loose. She really had to make a mark in those early scenes, because we then have all that time in between to get to know everyone else, and as I said above, everyone in the cast did a great job, so it would've been easy to lose her, but those opening scenes, especially opposite Maryam d'Abo, definitely left that impression. It was a different role from the one she had in When Darkness Falls, where she was the lead and the film centered around her struggle. I think her performance also matched the Hammer Horror energy that the film had overall, but, again, with Tom Jolliffe's writing taking it in a different direction, she could do more to affect the outcome than just be the dangerous wild card who's having a crisis of faith.
Among the other performances, I loved the juxtaposition between Amber Doig-Thorne's Agnes and her "fully believe in God and believe that God is talking to me" version of faith, versus Maryam d'Abo's Mother Superior and her "adherence to rules and discipline" version of faith, and how the two clash as the film goes on. There's also the humanity in d'Abo's Mother Superior wanting to be a mother after sacrificing that for her faith for so long, and it's that one time she's slipping in her discipline and adherence to the rules that proves her undoing. I think from there, I liked how Elle O'Hara's Valerie is caught between the two, she's used to the routine and structure of the nunnery, and when the baby comes and things start breaking down, her sense of self starts to go with it. That's a part most horror movies wouldn't bother fleshing out, she'd just be there to be killed off, so the fact that it was fleshed out, and she gave it life, was another touch that gave the film more depth. Finally, there was Lisa Riesner, who plays the young newcomer who doesn't speak, and dances nude in the courtyard in the middle of the night. To be fully game for a part like that takes courage--usually with the exploitation films we do here, when a producer says a nude scene was part of the "character development," it sounds dubious, but because she was game, and because of how the part was written, it actually did add to the film in a substantial and not gratuitous way.
Finally, I mentioned above that Shepka's young caretaker was inhabiting an Oliver Reed-type role. The way this would work in a Hammer film in the 60s, is the young hero ends up in the remote location, where evil is afoot, and he needs to find a way to escape. Maybe Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee is lurking in the background. I was trying to think how many Hammer films were woman-led like this one, and the best I could think of was Die! Die! My Darling!, where Stephanie Powers is that Oliver Reed character stuck in a dangerous, isolated situation, and Tallulah Bankhead plays the evil Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing type. Usually in a Hammer film a scenario with a group of women would go like this: Shepka's character shows up at the nunnery, and then learns the nuns are all evil, murdering temptresses, and the question is, can he escape before it's too late? And I think having Shepka's character feel like it would've been Oliver Reed's enhanced the Hammer vibe, while at the same time focusing on the nuns showed that this was also breaking from some Hammer traditions. It was bringing Hammer into the 21st century, and as the kids say, I'm here for it.
And with that, let's wrap this up. Here in the States you can watch this on Tubi or rent it on Prime. When I think of a Hammer Horror on a Saturday night, like on Svengoolie, this is a modern movie that fits that bill; but it also gives you a bit more, which is a credit to the work of the cast and crew. Speaking of which, Svengoolie is a repeat this week, so why not load up on snacks give this a watch instead?
For more info: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26594761
And if you haven't yet, check out my newest book, Nadia and Aidan, at Amazon in paperback or Kindle!
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