Hell Baby
title: "Hell Baby" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2013-films", "2013-american-films", "2013-comedy-films", "2013-comedy-horror-films", "2010s-english-language-films", "american-comedy-horror-films", "american-haunted-house-films", "american-pregnancy-films", "american-supernatural-horror-films", "demons-in-film", "english-language-comedy-horror-films", "films-about-exorcism", "films-directed-by-robert-ben-garant", "films-set-in-new-orleans"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Baby" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Hell Baby |
| image | Hell Baby film.jpg |
| director | |
| producer | |
| writer | |
| starring | |
| music | Michael Farrell |
| cinematography | Charles Papert |
| editing | Kevin Oeser |
| studio | Darko Entertainment |
| Principato-Young Entertainment | |
| distributor | Millennium Entertainment |
| Gravitas Ventures | |
| released | |
| runtime | 94 minutes |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| budget | $2.5 million |
| gross | $8,785 |
| :: |
| name = Hell Baby | image = Hell Baby film.jpg | director = | producer = | writer = | starring = | music = Michael Farrell | cinematography = Charles Papert | editing = Kevin Oeser | studio = Darko Entertainment Principato-Young Entertainment | distributor = Millennium Entertainment Gravitas Ventures | released = | runtime = 94 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $2.5 million | gross = $8,785
Hell Baby is a 2013 American horror-comedy film written and directed by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. It stars Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb, Keegan-Michael Key, Riki Lindhome, Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. Writer-directors Garant and Lennon also co-star as a pair of priests.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2013. It was made available on VOD beginning July 25, 2013 before its theatrical release on September 6, 2013.
Plot
An expectant couple move into a haunted fixer-upper in New Orleans. There, they encounter a neighbour named F'resnel who tells them about the bloody history of their house.
Vanessa and her husband, Jack, exhibiting a certain carelessness in their house hunting, buy a foreboding wreck of a place in New Orleans that the local residents have given demonic nicknames like "House of Blood". Vanessa is already extremely pregnant when they move in, and soon she is talking like Regan from The Exorcist. The Vatican sends ghost hunters Father Padrigo and Father Sebastian to deal with the situation. Vanessa's Wiccan Sister Marjorie also joins her and Jack, and tries to break the curse on the house with her spell-craft ritual acts of magic. All three fail when, after a normal baby is born to Vanessa, a demonic horned baby is also born. The baby attacks and in the ensuing gory carnage Marjorie, two policemen, and Father Padrigo die, before Jack kills the demon baby with a floor lamp.
Cast
::data[format=table title=""]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Rob Corddry | Jack |
| Leslie Bibb | Vanessa |
| Keegan-Michael Key | F'resnel |
| Riki Lindhome | Marjorie |
| Rob Huebel | Micky |
| Paul Scheer | Ron |
| Robert Ben Garant | Father Sebastian |
| Thomas Lennon | Father Padrigo |
| Michael Ian Black | Dr. Marshall |
| Kumail Nanjiani | Cable Guy |
| Alex Berg | Cheerful Guy |
| Dave Holmes | Rental Car Guy |
| David Pasquesi | Cardinal Vicente |
| :: |
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 33% based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 4.43/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Though its brand of immature comedy may appeal to some, Hell Baby misses the mark with much of its humor, rendering it a largely ineffective—and often crass—genre sendup." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Badass Digest called the movie "silly, lowbrow, and funny." CraveOnline called it a "triumph of independence" and a "genuinely hilarious farce." TheDissolve said, "Hell Baby falls unmistakably on the 'comedy' side of the horror-comedy divide. It isn't overly concerned with being scary, just with delivering a steady stream of laughs."
Deadline Hollywood reported that the movie was acquired by Millennium Films for U.S. Distribution and was slated to be released in the fall of 2013.
The Hollywood Reporter reviewed Hell Baby following its premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, describing it as a parody that “awkwardly mashes together thematic elements from Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist.” It characterized the movie as a “lighthearted horror spoof” with repetitive humor and limited comedic payoff.
Gabe Toro of IndieWire described Hell Baby as “barely a movie,” criticizing its loose structure and reliance on sketch-style humor over narrative cohesion.
New York Times review, critic Neil Genzlinger described Hell Baby as a horror comedy that “rarely dares to be smart,” relying on overused gags rather than sharp humor. While praising Leslie Bibb’s energetic performance, he found the film weighed down by dull supporting characters and predictable jokes. Genzlinger concluded that only Keegan-Michael Key provided genuine laughs in an otherwise “yawn-inducing” parody of demonic-possession films.
References
References
- "Hell Baby (2013) - Box Office Mojo".
- "2013 Sundance".
- "Hell Baby (2013)".
- "Hell Baby".
- Faraci, Devin. (February 1, 2013). "Sundance Review: HELL BABY is Silly, Lowbrow and Funny". Badassdigest.com.
- Bibbiani, William. (January 22, 2013). "Sundance 2013 Review: Hell Baby". [[CraveOnline]].
- Rabin, Nathan. (July 26, 2013). "Hell Baby".
- (March 11, 2013). "Millennium Acquires Sundance Horror Comedy 'Hell Baby'".
- Lowe, Justin. (2013-02-16). "Hell Baby: Sundance Review".
- Toro, Gabe. (2013-09-05). "Review: ‘Hell Baby’ Starring Rob Corddry & Leslie Bibb".
- (2013-09-06). "That’s One Devil of a Fixer-Upper (Published 2013)".
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