[FrightFest 2026] FILM REVIEW: Big Baby

Big Baby - FrightFest UK Premiere Review

Director: Spider One

Starring: Brandon Scott, Krsy Fox, Adam Marcinowski, Torio Van Grol, Catherine Corcoran

Written by: Spider One

Produced by: Spider One, Krsy Fox

Cinematography by: Andy Patch

Original Score by: Alexander Taylor

Synopsis:

Successful horror screenwriter Adam struggles for inspiration until a terrifying nightmare about a masked killer sparks an idea for his new script. As he delves deeper into the story, the line between reality and fiction begins to blur.

Thoughts:

I love films about writers, especially screenwriters. And I love how a film can tap into the chaos that is often perpetuated around trying to put an idea onto the blank page and expand it into a 90 minute movie. Horror is a great genre for exploring that madness and Spider One delivers a solid meta slasher that actually has some things to say about the craft and the toxic criticism it receives.

Brandon Scott stars as Adam Lewis, a fairly successful screenwriter who writes horror scripts and makes a lot of money doing so. But he's at a point in his writing career where he seems to value the opinion of podcasters more than anything else. He admits that he wants to be liked. A very dangerous thing for any writer to profess. Despite the sincere requests from his girlfriend Kate (Krsy Fox) to ignore the noise, Adam just can't do that. To the point where his obsession with the criticism is killing his creative process.

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But after opening up to Kate about a visceral nightmare in which he witnessed a large masked killer slashing her in their bed, Adam takes her advice and uses that as a roadmap for his new horror screenplay. But as Adam falls deeper into the story his real life begins to blur and he begins to hallucinate that the killer, Big Baby, is haunting him. But is it really just a hallucination?

Everyone loves a meta slasher and this idea has been explored to some extent before in 'Wes Craven's New Nightmare'. A horror writer's screenplay is coming to life in the real world etc etc. But I think Spider One does a pretty good job of keeping his version of this idea original enough to keep it interesting.

"I'm not sure anyone loves anything anymore"

I did thoroughly enjoy the commentary on film criticism. How easy is it for any Tom, Dick and Harry to set up their own website blog, Youtube channel or podcast these days? And why do these people think they have some sort of authoritive voice on the matter. But that's the issue. Authoritive voices don't matter as much these days because this society has been programmed to work within the algorithim. Posting trending topics, hyperbole and rage bait for clicks is more important than having anything of worth to say. I liked how this was addressed and how honest Adam was about wanting critical acclaim, even from your average podcaster. I wonder how many writers and industry professionals really think like this?

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The killer is called Big Baby because he chooses to wear a tormented baby mask while taking out his victims. His past is harrowing and echoes that of Jason Voorhees. His revenge will be sweet. But do his victims deserve to die? This is another interesting theme that is explored through the character of Amanda (Catherine Corcoran) who was one of the bullies in Big Baby's childhood. In fact this was the most interesting sequence of the entire film. She appears to Adam halfway through to beg for her life and claims that Adam can save her. I think this particular moment is done really well and maybe the highlight of the movie.

Brandon Scott and Krsy Fox go fully in on their characters. They have great chemistry and their performances, particularly towards the finale, are fantastic. There's an element of domestic abuse brought into the film that heightens the tension and is initially executed quite well but then goes off the rails a little bit. There's some interesting shot choices too however the editing is a bit underwhelming, especially the scenes involving Big Baby. I think the character actually could've been showcased better overall instead of all the ambiguity.

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Gavin Logan

'Big Baby' received its UK Premiere at FrightFest '26 on August 27th