The Baby in the Basket review – devilish convent horror is low-budget nun fun
This cheap-as-chips British horror concerning demented nuns is risible in the extreme, but there's something about its willingness to commit to the bit that's sort of admirable. Plus, there's a faintly amusing retro vibe that harks back not just to low-budget 1970s horror of yore, but also to the so-called 'quota quickies' from the 1930s onwards, British film fare made by the yard.
Set during the second world war on an island off the coast of Scotland, the film takes place almost entirely within the confines of a nunnery called St Augustine's. That said, there's an opening sequence where a nun is pursued by a wolf outside, a beast so happy to be playing with the actor his tail is up and wagging the whole time – he looks about as menacing as a cockapoo. She manages to escape being licked to death and gets inside where we meet the other players. Wafty Mother Superior (Maryam d'Abo) seems a couple beads short of a full rosary, which also goes for several of the fervent sisters: devout Valerie (Elle O'Hara), intense Agnes (Amber Doig-Thorne), and so on. The most relatable may be Eleanor (Michaela Longden), the least devout of the lot, and prone to lapses in sobriety. There are also two men employed as caretakers: Amos (Paul Barber from The Full Monty) and a younger former soldier, Daniel (Nathan Shepka, who is also one the film's co-directors as well as co-writer), who is hot for all the comely nunfolk.
When a mysterious infant boy is dropped off at the nunnery's door, all hell breaks loose. Well, not quite hell; more like low-level demonic possession, as nun after nun starts hearing the voice of the devil telling them to take care of his kid and if they won't do that, kill themselves instead. Things soon get quite fractious, and before long there's a lot of bloody nun-on-nun violence, at one climactic point observed by two bored looking cherubim looking on from a painting. A little more psychological ambiguity might have elevated proceedings, but Shepka and co-director Andy Crane opt for full horror, with an evil horned puppet demon baby in the last act that's just silly, but in a sort of fun way.
The Baby in the Basket is on digital platforms from 17 February.
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