Wishbaby

My Ratings: Story 1.25 : Direction 1.25 : Pace 0.75 : Acting 0.50 : Entertaining 1.00 Total 4.75 out of 10.00

It's the imagination and the concept of the story that kept me watching this movie. A schoolgirl rescues an elderly woman from an abusive teen gang. For her bravery and mettle, the woman imparts upon her the secret of the Wishbaby. For the Wishbaby to function it requires the creator's will and love. This is given in its genesis as the owner moulds wax, cuts and shapes cloth, each and every act imbues it with life and power. Once the form is accomplished then comes the ritual burial. From which it will be birthed from mother nature. Once born of the Earth the Wishbaby is yours and it can begin to grant your wishes.

As always, with tales of wishing you have to be careful what you wish for. Mostly, the wishes it grants, the wishes in the usual manner. The abused woman wishes harm to the one who hurt her. He gets hurt. I have to say, I particularly liked the idea of The Governess. Though the Wishbaby carries out the physical deed, The Governess appears to be a sorceress. For when the Wishbaby comes you hear a baby crying and a woman singing a strange lullaby. This woman, we later learn, is The Governess. In truth, it appears to be The Governess who does most of the dirty deeds. I especially like the way she brought the estranged mother back to her children. Though I didn't like the way she made the social workers "Get Lost!"

Though Stephen W Parsons has a great concept, the story needed to be structured better. There are moments when the story slips. It doesn't help that he doesn't rectify the problem with his direction. It just pulls the viewer further out of the story and film.

Parsons' has a great eye for composition and using camera angles to build the atmosphere. I particularly liked the scene where the old woman enters the subway. The interior, dark, her shape a silhouette in the light at the end of the tunnel. Then the youths enter, and the sight of their four shadowy profiles entering the tunnel gives you a sense of unease. You know it will not end well.

The trouble is this is sometimes hit and miss. In the above scene, it works. However, as the segment continues, and the schoolgirl comes to the woman's rescue, the direction and filming falter. The scene loses power as you know they're dragging a mannequin over the tarmac and not the woman. This isn't down to bad special effects, though it didn't help. No, it's primarily down to how Parsons' shoot the scene. Luckily there are not too many scenes like this. Enough to reduce your enjoyment of the film. My main irk with his direction though was his overrun scenes. There are quite a few. The worst one being when the schoolgirl catches her brother drugging up. Parsons' stays on her for too long. She hasn't the skill to hold the camera or the audience for this length of time. Her segments in this scene feel awkward, and all for the wrong reasons.

However, I have to say the soundtrack is bloody awesome. I loved the haunting street beats, which added immensely to the urban feel of the story. I could watch this film again just for the music. Great work, guys.

Now, this film has a decent cast since we have Fenella Fielding as the elderly woman, Eve. She comes across with grace and style, as always. Tony Marshall (long-standing actor in Casualty) was the male social worker. And Claire Cox as The Governess. These established actors and actresses add strength to the movie. However, it's the lead roles that showed great promise. Tiana Benjamin had great power and strength when she was in an adversarial scene. However, she dropped a lot of on-screen presence when the story called for her to be alone and emotional - but this is one of her first films; she was much better in Fast Girls. It was Doc Brown (now known as Ben Bailey Smith) as her brother Colin, who came across well in all his scenes.

This is an imaginative and enjoyable film. Even though your attention and focus may slip in a few places. It's still worth one watch. This film is for the fans of the horror genre and the lovers of dark fantasy. Should you be on lockdown, this is one film that would be worth tracking down... as long as you don't pay too much for it. Even a couple of quid rental charge would be worth it.

Come on and push your perambulator over to my Absolute Horror and Obsidian Dreams lists to see where this little blue baby ranked.

Take Care and Stay Well.