"THE BABY IN THE BASKET" (2025) Isn't The Nunsploitation We're Looking For (REVIEW)

2024 came out of the gate strong last year with two back-to-back Nunsploitation films, “Immaculate” and “The First Omen.” They were well-filmed, original take on a sub-genre that hadn’t seen sunlight since the 70s. It was a mini-trend we certainly didn’t expect but thoroughly enjoyed. Finding out there would be an early entry into this sub-genre in 2025 with “The Baby in the Basket” from co-directors Andy Crane (“Dead Before They Wake”) and Nathan Shepka (“Lock and Load”) had us excited for more holy terror. Working off a script from Tom Jolliffe (“Cinderella’s Revenge”) and Shepka, the film has an interesting premise of a baby mysteriously appearing on the doorstep of a secluded convent. Where did this baby come from? How did it get to the island? Who brought it? Is this a child of the Devil? The framework is here for a delightfully dreadful Gothic creepfest. Does the film succeed as another strong entry into horrified habits, or are we ready to throw this baby out with the bath water? Read on to find out.

SUMMARY:

One night, a cloaked figure leaves a baby in a basket and disappears, never to be seen again. The nuns take in the boy and agree to look after him until they can take him to the mainland for permanent care. However, after a night under their watch, the newest addition to the convent begins to cause unsettling things. Increasingly strange occurrences lead the sisters to question their faith and everything they believe.

The film features a group of Nuns cloistered at the beautiful St. Augustine, a sprawling Gothic convent off the Scottish coastline. Set during the height of World War Two, the atmosphere is tense with the realization that the war is almost at their doorstep. Amongst them are the stoic Agnes (Amber Doig-Thorne), Eleanor (Michaela Longden), the rule-defying rebel (is that a thing with Nuns?), Valerie (Elle O’Hara), essentially a pious “Red Shirt,” former Bond Girl Maryam d’Abo, as the Mother Superior and the wide-eyed Lucy (Lisa Riesner), who’s suffering trauma from something she’s witnessed previously on the island that has left her in a state of near-mute PTSD. Add the soon-departing groundskeeper Amos (Paul Barber) and his eventual replacement, Daniel (co-director and co-writer Nathan Shepka), and you have the perfect fodder for some devilish mayhem.

WHAT WORKS:

The film has a strong cast. Some performances border on subtle, while others go full-throttle, with some intentional (?) scenery chewing. Because the cast includes a cross-section of different people with various agendas and secrets, those conflicting rhythms establish an interesting feel to the film. It’s heartbreaking that the script leaves this talented ensemble adrift. The setting is appropriately beautiful, lonely, and atmospheric. The Gothic setting works as a character, adding a Hammer House of Horror feel to the film. We wish the directors had used more of the location. When they do, the natural beauty of the surroundings is breathtaking. The location definitely could have been used to improve this film.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK:

Immediately, the cold open left us scratching our heads. Meant to be Omen-esque, an elderly Nun has a run-in with a wolf that is borderline parody as she bolts (strolls) for safety chased by a demonic wolf. The score swells to establish imminent danger as the wolf (dog? blurry CGI) lazily pads behind her. The scene then transitions to the groundskeeper providing a disjointed exposition dump monologue to his young replacement. The scene begins and ends in the middle, adding to our confusion, and is so tonely different from the scene before it that we got whiplash.

From there, it doesn’t get much better. There’s no sense of pacing in the film. It goes from one janky scene to the next. The directors do an adequate job of making each Nun distinct with a unique personality, even if most lean toward stereotypes, but the tension never escalates. Once a rhythm to the dread starts to gain steam, it almost immediately dissipates with a scene that meanders. The terror never has a chance to build on itself. We understand that the directors are going for something with these drawn-out scenes, but that’s better suited to drama, not horror. There’s a definite sense that these scenes should elicit contemplation on the meaning of faith, salvation, and damnation. Still, they miss the mark entirely, feeling more like an endless sermon rather than a thought-provoking rumination of religion.  

The set pieces feel tacked on when we finally get to the third act, with no emotional payoff or logic. It’s not a spoiler to state that the baby in question is the child of the devil, but there’s nothing remotely original about anything that takes place in the film's closing minutes. The final nail in this coffin is a remarkably shoddy piece of practical work that takes you right out of the film, and at the moment, everything should be hitting its peak.

“The Baby in the Basket” had potential. The acting, the location, and the concept are solid, and this could have been a welcome addition to the resurgence of Nunsploitation. Still, the execution of almost every aspect of this film is a half measure. The final result is utterly forgettable. 

“The Baby in the Basket” will be available to own or rent on digital download in the UK and US and to own on DVD (for the UK only) on February 17th.

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