THE DEVIL WITHIN HER (1975)

aka I DON’T WANT TO BE BORN aka SHARON’S BABY aka IT LIVES WITHIN HER
Streaming on Amazon Prime!
Directed by Peter Sasdy
Written by Stanley Price (screenplay), Nato De Angeles (original story)
Starring Joan Collins, Eileen Atkins, Ralph Bates, Donald Pleasence, Caroline Munro, George Claydon

Trailer: https://youtu.be/KHtMPHiGgwc
The moral of this little horror nugget from the seventies seems to be never piss off a midget–otherwise, they will be sure to curse you with a demon baby. That’s about all of the logic that applies to THE DEVIL WITHIN HER aka I DON’T WANT TO LIVE aka IT LIVES WITHIN HER aka SHARON’S BABY (despite the fact that no one in this film is named Sharon). Directed by Peter Sasdy (who directed NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT and most notably TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA), this film seems owe a lot to ROSEMARY’S BABY and IT’S ALIVE, but still ends up being pretty memorable and worth seeking out.

Joan Collins plays Lucy, an ex-showgirl who is now married to a well-to-do man and leads a well to-do-life. Lucy still keeps in touch with her showgirl roots, though, through her pal played by scream queen Caroline Monro. The message of this film seems to be that one can never escape one’s past. Though this may take a rather snooty stance on women who dance for a living, it doesn’t seem very shy in taking this stance. Almost everyone in the cast either recognizes Lucy’s floozy days as the good old days or the bad old days.

But Lucy isn’t completely innocent here. She’s slept with her former manager at the strip club just before her marriage to her husband. Plus, during her last show, Hercules, her height-impaired assistant played with sweaty glee by George Claydon, makes advances toward her. When she spurns him, he curses her and her first born child. Sure enough, nine months after the wedding, the stork delivers a little bundle and though the title suggests the devil is inside her, he is actually shitting himself in a crib most of the film—outside of her.

Though elements of this story could be found in IT’S ALIVE, THE EXORCIST, ROSEMARY’S BABY and many others, this film stands out for its strong performances by its cast. Donald Pleasance offers a subtle performance as a doctor who wants to work with a nun in order to combat the baby. A young Joan Collins shows a lot of sensitivity here (not her particular strong suit given the bitchy performances that made her famous in her later career).

The film is also pretty ballsy with some intense moments of gore, particularly the beheading of one cast member and simply for casting a baby as a monster and following through with it until the end. Dealing with all forms of postpartum depression and the horrors of pregnancy and infants, THE DEVIL WITHIN HER continues to keep things serious despite the fact that it’s basically about a super-strong killer demon baby.

Check out the trailer here!!