The Baby (2022) User Reviews

The wheels are spinning but the stroller isn't going anywhere.

[kobrakai-1 · 5/10 · 13 June 2022]

What starts out as a fun and intriguing premise ultimately gets sunk when the plot begins dragging around the halfway mark and never really picks back up again until the finale. I can't help but feel like this would have been better off being made as a movie as opposed to stretching a plot like this out over eight half-hour long episodes.

Michelle de Swarte is a really fun lead who elevates the material as best she can and I do appreciate the themes the show delves into, plus I admit I really did enjoy the finale, I just wish we got there sooner.

Great start but fizzled out

[kathmummybear · 5/10 · 11 July 2022]

Loved the start lots of weirdness and humor unfortunately it didn't maintain its momentum (no idea the point of the commune) such a shame it could of been good.would love to see Michelle in more she was great.

A little too dark at times.

[Real_Mrs_JonSnow · 7/10 · 8 May 2022]

I was going to give it an eight. Then they went a little too dark with the dog. I know I should care more about the people the baby hurts, but there's just something about an innocent dog that gets to me more. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Aside from that, the show is funny and witty. The baby is adorable. I've watched two episodes and it's taking a bit too long to for the story to unfold. I'll keep watching it because I want to know what's up with this baby. Hopefully, they don't hurt anymore dogs.

I Think it Was Funny

[PenguinCat · 6/10 · 29 May 2022]

It was, and wasn't, about the Baby. And no, it was not scary at all. Except for maybe the Breast Feeding dream and the poor Dog Dying (which I hate).

But my gripe is why does almost every character hate Natasha? She is the most normal one in the film. All the people annoyed at her are the ones who are annoying. I thought the baby was hilarious with his little looks that he kept giving. Worth a watch in my opinion.

Read the other reviews for more details about the actual show.

Baby is the Best

[coleco2000 · 7/10 · 26 April 2022]

One episode in and my interest has been captured. The baby's 'acting' glances and stares made me laugh out loud! So cute and funny as portrayed. But the bad part is how difficult the english is to understand to the point I needed subtitles. And I hate subtitles because I miss the acting. All things considered it is a plot worthy of a good show that is well made.

UPDATE: Watching episode 7 now and still interested and surprised. I've also gotten better at understanding and comprehending the speech and plot. It got a bit slow at times, but worth continuing the journey. Cheers UK friends!!

what the hell happened???

[denisgonzalez-81909 · 2/10 · 4 June 2022]

Man, this started off as a morbidly fun (and creepy) story with a lot of unexplained eeriness, but soon after episode 4 it turned into a boring story about sibling rivalry and and bad parenting in a female cult farm. They finally leave that stupid farm at the end of episode 6, but I doubt they'll be able to recover from the damage that plot diversion did.

Oh well, better luck next time.

Superb morbidity

[UniqueParticle · 8/10 · 25 April 2022]

Odd concept babies being adorable haunting killers that is especially well made by HBO! I've been curious about this series it seems solid so far, hard to know what to think but I'm intrigued the pilot is brilliant madness. Has dark comedy, it's mostly bizarre and mystery all mashed in perfectly!

Baby Fever

[ApeSht · 6/10 · 25 April 2022]

Kinda hard to fully rate it as a whole, but so far it's OK. There was nothing really exciting or horrific that took place and the energy of the episode plodded along slowly. 33 mins felt like 45+.

I wish they would've dropped all the episodes at once. I'll check out the next one and get a better idea if it's something I'd like to continue watching.

He Called Me Baby!

[bosporan · 3/10 · 25 April 2022]

A sinister opening, a terrified woman fleeing cops with a baby, foreshadowing what is to come. It is reminiscent of Chucky, hopefully it will be as fabulous as the recent TV series.

There are some issues, British actors with caricature accents, avoidable ludicrous plot holes, the relaxed pacing and some lighting not up to modern standards.

On the plus side, a fine performance from Michelle de Swarte delivering essentially a monologue, conveying sufficient to advance the plot without becoming preachy or a tsunami of exposition. The animation of the baby, though not perfect, is excellent and credible in the context. Oh ... the carnage is viscerally satisfying too!

Overall a solid first episode, hopefully it will live up to its Don Mancini roots. I am intrigued to see more.

Update: A fabulous opening episode, descended into oblivion by episode four and is completely unwatchable. A golden opportunity, wilfully frittered away. 7* to 3.

So freaking weird

[greenhouse3505 · 8/10 · 8 May 2022]

This show is a surprising jigsaw puzzle. It is a bit omnidirectional but with enough corners to make the journey to it's episodes last scene, entertaining.

The premise is original and dark humour spot on. It won't be for everyone. Especially those who don't get british, sarcastic, in your face type stuff.

As a matter of fact. I highly recommend Americans use subtitles seeing as you have difficulty with dialects not your own. (no offence intended).

Bottom line. If weird is one of your middle named. Give it a shot.

Good start, but got a little silly towards the end

[JamesR1973 · 6/10 · 4 September 2022]

Thought this started well, but then it started to unravel when they went to her mother's house in the country (which felt like some Green Party meeting in Brighton).

By the end I found the majority of the characters annoying with their constant pontifications of life (which I know was the whole point), but the conclusion was fairly obvious and could even result in another series. In retrospect, this would probably make a good stage play.

A shout out to the twins who played the baby, who did a great job with some pretty amusing expressions and glances. Hopefully they weren't scarred in making the thing!

They killed the dog.

[wildgues · 2/10 · 12 May 2022]

The first episode is intriguing and darkly funny and grisly, but entertaining. The second episode was full of plot holes and just all out stupidity. To cap it off, they killed a dog very graphically for almost no plot payoff. The show might have potential, but at this point, I'm just done with it.

Gave up

[DominosthroughAgrate · 11 July 2022]

Another terrible British production. My partner wanted to watch it, despite the fact I had low expectations we gave it a go. Pretentious attempt at a sort of quasi Giallo-synth horror score, pointless amounts of swearing to mask the terrible script and a whole lot of very outmoded #girlboss realness.

The sort of production that the Guardian will award a 5 star review, of course.

Ok but it's dragged on and didn't make sense

[karenbeach-52495 · 6/10 · 10 July 2022]

Starts ok. And it's an easy watch. Few plot holes that were confusing. Some of it doesn't make sense. The main character I really liked (Natasha) and Mrs Eaves she was good with the timed wit.

But the sister (Bobbi) ruined it for me. The actress who played her was awful, she can't act to save her life her, petulant winging annoyed the h of me. She was completely pointless as was the retreat with the mum and the kids. Could of been better.

After a while you feel sorry for the actual baby.

[manleygurl · 7/10 · 20 July 2022]

First of all this isn't about a baby. They're trying to do way too much with an interesting premise. It started out pretty interesting then it got weird, but not good weird. Just weird. And those poor children (the baby was played by twins). I'm sure there were precautions taken but all that negativity and violence around the baby, yikes. So here are the good things: the idea was very original. There were also a lot of funny scenes-at first. I think the problem started when they tried to get too deep. Motherhood is difficult, women wonder if they are up to the task. There's also sleep deprivation and post partum depression that could have played into this comedy drama. But it turns out to be about childhood trauma? This series could have been a great 4-5 episodes or 1 really good movie.

Everybody Loves a Baby

[owen-watts · 6/10 · 12 September 2022]

This mesmeric, artistic and semi-allegorical piece of terror-natal strangeness is a compelling watch but not necessarily an essential one. The story of a woman in her late 30s whose friends are all breeding and who is suddenly lumbered with a terrifyingly violent monster baby who wants her all to himself. It probably didn't need all eight episodes to tell this story, and it stumbles along in fits and starts but it's creatively built and grounded by some fantastic performances, particularly the dynamic between Michelle de Swarte's volatile Natasha and her more hapless be-dungaree'd sister Bobbi (Amber Grappy) who I felt a particular empathy for and who I wish had shown up in the series much earlier than she did.

Had so much potential

[roger1865 · 2/10 · 21 November 2022]

Initially the opening scene got me hooked, it was dark, mysterious and interesting. Then I got to episode four and realized that they ran out of ideas and REALLY tried to stretch out an already thin plot. They try too hard to be smart, different and try so hard to get a message out there but it gets lost in a muddy plot, cringe-worthy dialog and jokes that fall flat. The characters are never interesting and all pretty unlikable, especially Natasha and Bobbi. The best parts of the show are the titular Baby, Ms. Eaves, and the ending (but partially because it meant the show was over). It felt like the writers/creators took themselves too seriously and wanted to make something artsy when in reality they could've had a darkly funny gore-fest. It starts off feeling like its going to be a witty dark comedy but quickly becomes a message about mental health and symbolism, which is fine but it's such a tonal shift that it never fully recovers and loses any potential it had. In the end it was meh.

Babylicious

[robert-634-396598 · 9/10 · 27 April 2022]

I hate cookie cutter formulaic movies and series. While I have only seen one episode, I was intrigued with how this story would unfold. The opening scene puts you on pins and needles. The tension around the main character's life is very realistic and relatable. It unfolds into a beautiful disaster and the simultaneous adornment of the baby's giggle makes it that much more disturbing. I look forward to seeing where this goes, but for now, this show seems well worth the watch.

Not bad a 1 time view

[marknairn · 7/10 · 8 August 2022]

This was not the worst thing I've seen. It's not something I will rewatch but I'm glad I've seen it. Very clever and does paint a great between the lines look at post natal depression throwing in some humour to lighten the mood.

Its good entertainment with some serious undertones wrapped up in some really funny one liners and and supernatural story.

Could work as movie...

[amkn75 · 3/10 · 2 June 2022]

...but certainly not as a series. This review is based on the 6 first episodes.

I was recommended this show, so I jumped right on it. It tends to be refreshing with something not-Hollywood, but in this case it's not though.

It has a really weak story which is dragged out endlessly with quite a few "goofs" in the plot line.

This series certainly has an agenda in addition to The Baby, and also the lack of both horror and comedy is beyond strange since it's tagged as both.

It's...good

[killercola · 9/10 · 2 May 2022]

Two episodes so far and I'm all in. Different, original and morbidly funny. I see a couple bad reviews after just one episode (assuming they finished the episode) but it's the normal fare of knucklehead reviewers. Majority reviews are accurate, this is a good one. Check it out.

Interesting premise

[rstrack89-563-999561 · 7/10 · 15 July 2022]

I'm always down for some dark humor and social commentary as long as its not beaten over your head. For the most part I think this series did well with both. The struggles of being a lesbian in older times is woven quite well into the story, and even what modern couples can face with adoption. By far and away the best part was the titular baby! Every time you hear his giggle whether on screen or off you know more violence has befallen a character and I was there for it every time. Not a perfect series by any stretch, but it was still entertaining throughout. I'll never understand people who rate shows whether it be positive or negative until it's run has been completed. There's an episode tag to rate individual episodes in a series, but it is what is I suppose.

Starts Great, gets boring quickly

[MJP88 · 3/10 · 6 June 2022]

Notice most of the high scoring reviews are based off just the first episode.

The first half of the first episode was good and intriguing but they don't explain what's going on, or why you're watching it. It doesn't give you anything to hold onto, there is no goal for the character or aim of the series. There is also zero comedy even though it's advertised as a comedy. Not for me. I got to the end of episode 2 and gave up.

Children are terrible

[srdaniel55 · 7/10 · 10 May 2022]

Babies are no good. Procreation is a scam. This show demonstrates all things horrifying about breeding. 'The Baby' is pretty great. This show is funny and produces anxiety. What else is there to say?

Dark Comedy?

[zinitime · 7/10 · 27 May 2022]

I'm not quite sure HOW to rate this show. It's listed as a dark comedy, but I find nothing funny in it. It's much more a horror story. I binge watched the first 5 episodes. I simply watched, after episode one, because I was curious about the baby. The 5th episode answered most of my questions.

I rated it as a horror story, not as a comedy. As a comedy it gets a zero.

But, watching it, I kept wondering what harm was being done to the REAL baby, as they left it crying and just walked past it. I don't like shows that I fear might traumatize a child, and I think this one might. So, for me, the story is over. I won't be watching more.