Baby is odd film. On one hand, it could be seen as an inspiration for movie like Jurassic Park. On the other hand, it's not hard to see this is just a simple take on the ancient Lost World story written so many years ago by Sir Arthur Con Doyle. This is a mildly entertaining movie with fair effects, but the abysmal DVD ruins everything.

It's a bare bones plot that's been told countless times. A family of brontosaurs has been discovered and the usual evil guy (Patrick McGoohan) wants them to show them off for profit. A group (headed by William Katt and Sean Young) tries to protect them and keep them in their natural habitat, especially the baby that has taken a liking to them.

For a movie rated PG, this is a surprisingly violent movie with lots of bloodshed and gunfire. There is also a ton of nudity from the female natives, but the MPAA considers it ok since that's how they live. If Janet Jackson offends you, this is not a movie for you.

Anyway, the dinosaur effects are achieved by people inside a rubber suit and are passable for the day. The larger adult brontosaurus' are even more impressive, but still obviously fake. The acting is fair and the brief bits of comedy are hilarious. The story is predictable and the characters back-stories are pretty much meaningless. But, if you're going in ready to see some dinosaurs, you'll be happy. (** out of *****)

The video here is presented in full frame, cropped down from 2.35:1. It's hard to bear at times with characters out of frame, talking off screen, and the vast scope of the dinosaurs is lost. Worse yet, the print is actually worse than any VHS copy. The grain and compression artifacts are ludicrous making this one of the worst looking studio releases ever to hit the format. (no stars)

The sound is presented in 2-channel stereo. Voices are obscured by sound effects and hard to hear at times. You'll have to fiddle with the volume constantly to understand what is being said or turn on the subtitles. The action sequences are loud, but the obviously low sampling rate means everything sounds washed out. Did they use a 20-year old VHS tape? It's a very real possibility. (*)

There are no special features. (no stars)

This is as bad as DVD's get. Absolutely no care was taken to present this movie with any quality and it would hardly surprise me if this was just a transfer of a VHS tape. It's really that bad. If my words don't scare you enough, then feel free to try it for yourself. Just remember: You have been warned.

Originally posted at Breaking Windows.