The Baby – 1973, US, 84m. Director: Ted Post.
Dear Dead Delilah – 1972, US, 97m. Director: John Farris.
The Sleeping Car – 1989, US, 95m. Director: Douglas Curtis.
THE BABY (1973) A social worker (Anjanette Comer) is assigned to a dysfunctional family consisting of a mother (Ruth Roman), her two daughters, and Baby, a 20-year-old man-child who has the mental capacity of an infant. In between playing with a ball and sleeping in an oversized crib, Baby (David Mooney) is coddled by mama Roman, zapped with a cattle prod by sadistic sibling Susanne Zenor, and molested at night by his other, sexually frustrated sister (Marianna Hill). Comer’s persistence that Baby has the ability to overcome his psychosis sends Roman into a tizzy, and brings out the cutlery—as well as Comer’s ulterior motive. As demented as it is enjoyable, although one can’t help but think how much sicker The Baby might have turned out had it fallen into the hands of John Waters. Still—a salacious gem. B
DEAR DEAD DELILAH (1972) Decades after chopping her mother up with an ax, crazy old Luddy (Patricia Carmichael) is released from prison and sent to live with wealthy invalid Delilah Charles (Agnes Moorehead). The livelihood of the Charles family—all of whom are in some way plotting to steal Delilah’s fortune—is threatened when matriarch Delilah announces she’s leaving her estate (and her father’s secret stash of cash) to the county. That is until someone begins picking off the family members with an ax, and leaving the bloodied weapon in Luddy’s bed. The directorial debut (and swan song) of prolific novelist John Farris (The Fury), Dear Dear Delilah has the hallmarks of a “hagsploitation” vehicle—the plot is essentially a mash-up of Strait-Jacket and Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte—but plays more like a slasher movie soap opera. Entertaining in spots, but formulaic, and with a twist obvious to anyone who’s seen The Cat and the Canary. This was Moorehead’s last starring role before her death in 1974. C+
THE SLEEPING CAR (1989) Recent divorcé David Naughton rents a converted train car, unaware it’s haunted by The Mister—a former train engineer responsible for a disastrous train wreck ten years earlier. The Mister makes his appearance known early on by hiding under bed sheets and moving objects around in the middle of the night. The ghost also doesn’t have any qualms about committing murder when a frat boy breaks in and gets impaled with sofa springs that drive themselves into the man’s back and out his chest. And that’s where The Sleeping Car writes itself into a corner. Since The Mister is imprisoned within the walls of the train car, the script must find ways for victims to go inside and get killed. The most incredulous being a drunken journalism professor (Jeff Conaway) who sneaks into the car to call a sex phone operator (1-976-JIZZ!) and is folded in half in the foldout bed. The skimpy plot isn’t the only problem with the film—the characters never feel genuine and are played by the cast as either jokey or melodramatic, the saving grace being Kevin McCarthy’s white witch neighbor. Good special effects, but not much else. C