Welcome to Knockout Horror. We are back with another Horror Movie Review. Today we are taking a look at a fairly new release – Baby Ruby. Baby Ruby focuses on the story of a social media influencer who becomes pregnant. Unprepared for life as a parent, Jo (Noémie Merlant) struggles immensely and begins to become seriously paranoid of the people around her when she realises that something is wrong with her baby.
Rarely has a movie started with so much promise, only to squander it in such spectacular fashion. This is a confused mess of a movie that will likely frustrate and disappoint in equal measures. A promising opening third of the film, quickly gives way to poor direction, a confused narrative and predictable outcomes. Without further ado, let’s take a look.
Satirical and Pretty Amusing
Baby Ruby opens as something of a satirical take on new parenthood. Jo is absolutely not ready to leave her prior life behind. She loves alcohol, she is a workaholic and she enjoys her life. Jo is baffled at how well people, seemingly, handle motherhood while she cannot stop her child from crying. Other mums seem to have no problem. When she asks for advice, they tell her to “trust her instincts”. The problem is, Jo doesn’t think she has any parental instincts. She thinks the baby is angry at her. She is struggling to connect and terrified of anything happening to Ruby.
When Baby Ruby is comically raising an eyebrow to the expected norms of motherhood, it is at its best. As a satirical and tongue in cheek drama about the expectations of new mothers, Baby Ruby is entertaining and fairly sharp. As time goes on, the drama begins to give way to a few horror elements and this is when the problems start. Ruby’s cries echo, continuously, in Jo’s head. She becomes trapped between a place of wanting to protect Ruby and wanting to harm her. A trait which relates to the viewer the very real anxieties and struggles of new mothers, especially those suffering from postpartum depression.
Paranoid Psychological Horror
Jo leaves the hospital wearing a maternity sun-dress in a scene which immediately conjures up memories of Rosemary’s Baby. The similarities between Baby Ruby and the aforementioned horror classic don’t end there. This is a film that is attempting to channel that specific type of psychological horror. Jo’s newfound parental responsibilities have come with a realisation; nobody helps new mothers. In, what is, a stark contrast to the manner in which people dote on the expecting, new mothers face dealing with the baby, often, completely alone.
Jo’s inability to connect with her child, combined with the strange reactions of the people around her, and her belief that the baby is evil form the basis of the horror. It bears mention that Baby Ruby’s narrative is an important one. The pressures placed, particularly, on new mothers can have a seriously damaging effect.
There is a societal expectation for a mother to immediately bond with their baby. Something that is beyond unreasonable to expect of anyone and, when help is really needed, it is often absent. These are very important topics. The subject of postpartum depression is, perhaps, more relevant now than ever. In a world where intimate social interactions are a rare commodity. Replaced by hollow words and empty sentiment conveyed through social media. New mother’s likely feel even more judged and even less able to ask for help. Unfortunately, I am not sure that horror is the medium to discuss this sensitive topic.
Extremely Disjointed and Messy
The tongue in cheek observations pass quickly, giving way to something far darker and something far closer to the realities of postpartum psychosis. Unafraid of approaching the complex subject of filicidal thoughts in new mothers. Wohl deserves praise for telling a story that many are afraid to tell. The unfortunate reality of Baby Ruby, however, is one of unrealised potential.
When watching this movie, particularly towards the second half. There is a distinct feeling of a director out of their depth. The narrative comes undone and performances begin to feel less convincing which is incredibly disappointing. Events take place in a manner that feels thoroughly disjointed. There is an almost random nature to what you see on screen and continuity issues exist throughout. The constant “is she or isn’t she” questions related to the things Jo is experiencing are tiring and, ultimately, lead to a feeling of “why should I care?”.
The above issues wouldn’t be such a problem if the events were well executed and interesting. They simply aren’t. It has all been done before, only much better. Tension and atmosphere here are absolutely non-existent. Traditional horror movie scenes feel both poorly executed and lacking in actual reasons to care. It is overused horror trope followed by overused horror trope.
Wohl attempts to discombobulate the viewer through the sound of constant crying but it actually just frustrates and makes for a more difficult watch. This is a horror that borrows liberally from others and has few ideas. By the fourth “Was it a dream or was it reality?” scene you will likely be rolling your eyes. The sad thing is, there are another six to ten scenes like this to follow. It is horribly repetitive and gets old incredibly quickly.
Acting is a Mixed Bag
Acting is a bit of a mixed bag. Noémie Merlant, as Jo, is expected to carry the movie. She is really good for some of the movie’s runtime. As the situation becomes more severe, however, her performance weakens. The more melodramatic the movie becomes, the more she chews the scenery. Earlier scenes where she manages to deliver the movie’s biting satire perfectly can start to feel like a bit of a distant memory. They are replaced by unbelievable reactions and low-grade horror acting.
Kit Harrington, as Jo’s husband Spencer, is okay. It’s one of those incredibly by the numbers performances. The role could have been played by any actor, there is so little nuance in it. I am sure Game of Thrones fans will enjoy seeing him, though. His accent does slip on a few occasions. I really disliked his tendency to speak in a strange, breathy, manner. Do people actually speak like that in real life? It sounded like he was doing the voice over on an old Calvin Klein ad or something. He kind of looked a little bored throughout, as well.
I loved Jayne Atkinson as Spencer’s mum Doris; she was fantastic and added a ton of humour to the movie. Her comedic timing was spot on. She was also fantastic when tasked with being deadly serious. Meredith Hagner, as Shelly, was fine. She does a good job of portraying the picture perfect new mother and has a few comedic moments of note, as well.
Very Gloomy and Poor Direction
Cinematography here is a bit of a weird issue for me. It’s not at all bad but it is so dreary that the movie is legitimately ugly to look at. I understand that this is, likely, to reflect Jo’s situation. But there is no use of brighter lighting or wider shots to highlight happier times. It’s all just very grey. The movie feels like it was filmed under a canopy of trees. This is particularly true of the movie’s final scenes.
Direction is a problem in Baby Ruby. The continuity of the movie feels incredibly messy. Scenes are presented as a dream before being retconned only to then be presented as a dream once more. It’s very strange. Scenes are just liberally spattered all over the picture. The constant crying baby soundtrack is obnoxious. Whether you are a kid person or not, this will make your ears bleed. The combination of the crying baby with the dream like sequences is deliberate; that’s obvious. It is supposed to make the viewer share in Jo’s feeling of confusion and tiredness. But it actually just frustrates and makes the movie a horribly difficult watch.
Should You Watch Baby Ruby?
Baby Ruby is a disappointing horror movie with an important message. Focusing on the societal pressures placed on new mothers. Jo’s story of struggling to adapt to life as a parent is easy to sympathise with. The reality is, however, that the horror genre is probably not the best place for this message. The shoe horned in elements of horror are the start of Baby Ruby’s downfall and it never manages to pick back up. Some might enjoy its low rent psychological horror leanings but there are so many movies done so much better. I wouldn’t recommend wasting your time watching Baby Ruby.
