The Monster aka I Don’t Want to Be Born is released on Blu-ray in the UK by Network on 11th October 2021. Special Features:
Brand-new audio commentary from the Second Features podcast team
Sasdy’ Baby – Interview with director Peter Sasdy
The Excisist (sic) – interview with editor Keith Palmer
Holding the Baby – interviews with Renée Glynne (continuity) and Brenda Dabbs (wardrobe)
Theatrical trailer
The alternative I Don’t Want to be Born title sequence
Image gallery
Limited edition booklet by academic Adrian Smith (not the owner/editor of this site, Adrian J Smith)
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Running time: 94 mins
Subtitles
Region code: B
Blu-ray review:
Released under numerous titles (never a good sign), this mid-70s mess is almost universally derided for its crassly exploitative plot and backhanded delivery. And yet, it has a great cast who do their best to perform with a laughable premise and equally inane dialogue. So, for those reasons alone it’s a must-see for fans of lowbrow cinema. Just read the reviews further below…
As regards this new Blu-ray release from Network, they have delivered a great disc with an excellent transfer of a pristine print and a host of mostly entertaining extras. Foremost is a video interview with director Peter Sasdy in which the eight-six-year-old admits, with hindsight, the film went into production too hurriedly, without script necessary rewrites (although what could have made the cursed killer baby concept more palatable is debatable) and then suffered from a lack of funding when the Italian producers went bust. Yet, he remains proud he managed to complete the production and with such a great cast. There’s also a nice section where he reminisces about filming in Black Park in Buckinghamshire which had also been used as a location for some of his Hammer films. Sasdy is self-deprecating and his thoughts on perhaps the worst movie he made are welcome.
Meanwhile, a video chat with editor Keith Palmer provides further background on the making of the movie and he reveals that Caroline Munro’s lines were dubbed over by Liz Fraser due to their initially “flat” delivery. The oft-criticised travelogue style shopping scenes of Ralph Bates wandering around London’s West End were apparently added to beef up the running time (which seems odd as it runs 94 minutes and would have been improved without this obvious filler). Another video extra provides some background from Renee Glynne (continuity) and wardrobe supervisor Brenda Dabbs. The former details how hard-working the cast was and friendly and to work with and the latter reveals that the budget was so low they could hardly afford police uniforms and that she had to persuade Joan Collins to wear her own clothes (aside from the production’s purchase of some boots and an expensive handbag).
The one facet of the disc that doesn’t impress is the audio commentary by newbies to such extras, the Second Features podcast team. It comes across as poorly researched with a lack of focus on the film itself and its cast, rather rambling and sometimes descends into personal anecdotes unrelated to the movie. Horror fans will be surprised the pair aren’t even sure whether Rosemary’s Baby was released in 1968 or 1969, or if The Exorcist came out in 1973, stuff which is surely just common knowledge? A lighthearted chat approach with jokes about kipper ties, naff 70s wallpaper and Ralph Bates atrocious Italian accent may work for an online podcast but doesn’t necessarily translate into a fact-filled, informative disc addition. The audio commentary by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones for Network’s new Blu-ray release of The Dark Eyes of London shows how an audio commentary should be done. It’s brimming with info – these endeavours require hours of research beforehand – and yet also fun and entertainingly delivered.
The accompanying booklet was not available for review.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
Meanwhile, here’s our previous coverage of this wonderfully trashy movie:
‘It’s evil… it’s horrific… it’s conceived by the Devil!’
I Don’t Want to Be Born is a 1975 British supernatural horror film directed by Peter Sasdy (Nothing But the Night; Hands of the Ripper; Countess Dracula; Taste the Blood of Dracula) from a screenplay written by Stanley Price (Shout at the Devil; Gold; Arabesque), based on a story by Italian executive producer Nato De Angeles. Also known as The Monster and The Devil Within Her
The Unicapital production stars Joan Collins, Ralph Bates, Eileen Atkins, Donald Pleasence, Hilary Mason (Dolls 1986; Don’t Look Now), John Steiner, Janet Key and George Claydon (Twins of Evil; Berserk).
The eccentric soundtrack score was composed by Ron Grainer (The Omega Man; Night Must Fall and the Doctor Who theme).
Review:
It’s a thoroughly ludicrous, totally ridiculous movie and what makes it all the more memorable is that it doesn’t seem to realise how silly it all is. This is a crazy movie that tells its story in the most serious way possible. This damn film is almost sombre, it’s so serious.
Lucy (Joan Collins) is an exotic dancer who performs her act with a dodgy dwarf named Hercules (George Claydon). When Hercules tries to force himself on Lucy, he is tossed out of the club by Tommy (who is played by John Steiner, a good actor who somehow always turned up in movies like this one.) After she and Tommy get it on, Lucy is confronted by Hercules who curses her, telling her that she will have a baby “as big as I am small and possessed by the devil himself!” Oh, Hercules, you weirdo.
Nine months later, Lucy’s life has somehow completely changed. She’s no longer a dancer. ow, she’s married to a rich Italian named Gino (played by Ralph Bates, speaking in a bizarre cod-Italian accent).
When Lucy has her baby, it’s a long and difficult delivery. The baby is huge! Not only is he huge, but he also has a bad temper and unnaturally sharp nails. The first time that Lucy holds him, he attacks her. Whenever the baby is introduced to anyone new, he responds by biting them. When Tommy drops by to take a look at the baby that might be his son, he ends up with a bloody nose!
Yet, that’s not all this baby can do! Anytime he’s left alone in a room, the room ends up getting destroyed. Eventually, he apparently figures out how to climb trees and how to efficiently slip a noose around the neck of anyone who walks underneath him. And don’t think that you can escape this baby simply because you’re taller and faster. One unfortunate person is decapitated, even though he’s standing at the time. How did the baby reach his neck? Who knows?
Does this baby need an exorcism? Lucy’s sister-in-law, Sister Albana (Eileen Atkins), certainly believes that it does. As Lucy thinks about whether the baby’s behaviour is in any way odd, she glances over at the baby and — oh my God! The baby has Hercules’s face!
And it just keeps going from there. Again, I feel the need to repeat that this film is meant to be taken very seriously. The script may be full of awkward and clichéd dialogue but most of the cast attempts to act the Hell out of it.
Speaking of the cast, there’s a lot of familiar horror people in this one. Along with John Steiner, there’s also Caroline Munro and Donald Pleasence. Those three give performances that somehow manage to remain credible, perhaps because they had the experience necessary to understand what type of movie they were in. But the rest of the cast … you feel bad for them because they’re just trying so hard.
It’s a terrible movie, however, it’s so warped that I have to recommend that everyone see it once. If for nothing else, see it for the scene where Hercules responds to an attempt to exorcise the baby by swaying drunkenly on the stage. It’s weird and it’s hard for mere words to do it justice.
Lisa Marie Bowman, guest reviewer via Through the Shattered Lens
Other reviews:
“It’s empty, unoriginal, utterly worthless on every level […] This is probably Sasdy’s worst film and it’s probably doing better financially than any of his others.” Cinefantastique, 1975
“It’s funniest when the baby turns into the dwarf and then changes back. For the most part, the real baby is filmed when staring intently off camera. Some shots where the baby’s eyes wander should have been edited out. It’s generally well-made but the persisting silliness of the main idea dooms it to camp.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers
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“The cast seems to be trying their best, but their efforts are wasted in the type of movie where a grown man is punched in the nose by a baby. If The Devil Within Her had a Z-grade budget and second rate actors it would have been an amusing piece of genre junk. What makes it truly exceptional is the fact that this appears to be a serious attempt at a suspenseful horror film.” Cool Cinema Trash
” …about as convincing as something you’d see in a Benny Hill skit (the baby’s hand is seen pushing a woman into a lake from his carriage). As a whole, it’s a perfect example of why by this point in time, many British horror films commercially and critically failed and compared unfavorably with the competition out of Hollywood by the mid-1970s.” DVD Drive-In
“There are no attempts at character development or anything of the like, and while I know it’s a lot to hope for in a movie like this, character development is part of the reason why films like Rosemary’s Baby are successful, you know? Frequently you’ll be wondering if The Devil Within Her is actually meant to be comedic.” Final Girl
” …mindless and silly exploitation piece that merely tries to combine It’s Alive! and The Exorcist and gets nowhere as a result.” Alan Frank, The Horror Film Handbook
“A startlingly awful car crash of a British horror movie […] There has never been a film quite like this. Made completely straight-faced it turned out to be the very epitome of Bad Film as entertainment. And now it’s on Blu-ray. Treat yourself.” House of Mortal Cinema
“This is without a doubt the silliest killer-child movie I’ve ever seen. That’s not a bad thing, and it’s way more fun than Larry Cohen’s snooze-fest It’s Alive! But just don’t expect something serious and scary, just expect a staring baby with eerie music in the background, a dashing Joan Collins and a very nice performance by Donald Pleasence.” Ninja Dixon
” …a cash-in on the success of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, two films that obviously function incredibly well as ‘serious’ horror movies – but The Devil Within Her throws in so much lunacy and is put together in such a bizarre and haphazard manner that it never comes close to the success of those aforementioned movies. It does, however, work incredibly well as a silly, trashy, nonsensical popcorn movie…” Rock! Shock! Pop!
“In this film’s aims to be chilling, it is hopeless, but as a comedy, it’s funnier than much of the British film industry’s attempts in that area from this time.” The Spinning Image
“Sharon’s Baby is listed as a horror film and I’m sure it was written to instill terror in the hearts of 1970’s filmgoers. However, it is best labeled these days as a horror/comedy. It is unintentionally funny but it’s funny nonetheless. If you view this film in this light, you’ll find it to be an enjoyable viewing experience.” Vintage Horror Films
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